Department for Transport

Driving Licences

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for the renewal of driving licences where there is a medical consideration in June (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.

Rachel Maclean: The average number of working days taken to make a medical licensing decision in the month of June (a) 2019 and (b) 2020 is shown below.YearLicence typeNumber of working days2019Group 1 (cars/motorcycles)36Group 2 (lorries/buses)342020Group 1 (cars/motorcycles)62Group 2 (lorries/buses)66 The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition and if further information is required from medical professionals. Where an examination is necessary, waiting times are currently longer due to the current pressures on the NHS.

Railways: Visual Impairment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2021 to Question 4680, what progress has been made on installing platform edge tactile strips on every platform in Great Britain.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Network Rail is developing a programme to aim to install platform edge tactile strips on every platform in Great Britain. I will be making a further announcement in due course.

Department for Transport: Railways

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2021 to Question 11630 on Railways, on what dates those meetings were held.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The number of meetings that would come within the scope of the question means the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Travel: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the (a) effectiveness of and (b) adherence to the Passenger Covid 19 Charter.

Robert Courts: The Passenger COVID-19 charter provides a central point of information and guidance to help consumers understand their rights, responsibilities and reasonable expectations, when booking and travelling internationally whilst COVID-19 restrictions remain in place. We are monitoring through existing frameworks.

Transport for London: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to establish a financial settlement with Transport for London (TfL) that is longer than the current TfL funding agreement.

Rachel Maclean: Further waves of Covid-19 and national lockdowns have meant that the recovery from the pandemic has taken longer than hoped and therefore, transport demand remains uncertain. The third extraordinary funding support package was provided to Transport for London on a short term basis, to give more time to better understand future demand, and to work towards a possible longer-term funding agreement which all sides could support.

Bus Services: Transport for London

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will consider rescheduling the joint review with Transport for London into the demand for buses scheduled in July 2021 to a later date when demand has returned to pre-covid-19 outbreak levels.

Rachel Maclean: In June the Government agreed a third extraordinary funding and financing package for Transport for London (TfL) worth around £1.08bn. This deal takes steps to move TfL onto a more financially sustainable footing including a review of service levels to reflect changing travel patterns as a result of Covid.This review is aimed at generating a range of service options to efficiently manage services and associated costs to support the achievement of financial sustainability by the target date of April 2023. TfL and DfT will continue to monitor demand as the country recovers from the Covid pandemic.

Transport for London: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide Transport for London with a six-year capital funding settlement that would enable that organisation to deliver long-term transport policies for London.

Rachel Maclean: Further waves of Covid-19 and national lockdowns have meant that future transport demand in London remains uncertain. It is therefore too early to make significant long-term capital funding commitments. The parameters of any future funding settlements are part of live policy making and subject to sensitive discussions between Government and Transport for London (TfL). The third extraordinary funding support package, provided to TfL, gives more time to better understand future demand, and to work towards a possible longer-term funding agreement which all sides could support.

Travel: Access

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will encourage local authorities running pilots for escooters to also commission pilots on accessible modes of active travel.

Rachel Maclean: The Department strongly encourages all local authorities to develop cycling and walking schemes that are accessible to all, and the Public Sector Equality Duty places a legal requirement on them to consider the particular needs of those with protected characteristics, including disabled people, in designing these schemes. The Department’s Cycle Infrastructure Design Guidance (Local Transport Note 1/20) also emphasises the paramount importance of high-quality and accessible cycle infrastructure. Local authorities running e-scooter trials engaged closely with vulnerable road users and accessibility groups in the design of their schemes, and one trial operator is currently testing an adaption for wheelchair users which will make the scheme accessible to them.

Electric Vehicles: Ambulance Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Ambulance services on the use of electric bikes and scooters in the course of their duties.

Rachel Maclean: None: this is an operational decision for individual ambulance services. The Department is currently developing a national e-cycle support programme, and ran a £2 million e-cargo bike support programme in 2019/20 which enabled many businesses across England to use e-cargo bikes. The Department is also running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. While trials are running, privately-owned e-scooters will remain illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements.

Taxis: Coronavirus

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to make further financial support available to taxi businesses and drivers in response to the delayed relaxation of the covid-19 restrictions originally planned for 21 June 2021.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the taxi and private hire sector, to support them through the pandemic. The majority of taxi and PHV drivers are self-employed and can therefore apply for grants through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).On 3 March, the Chancellor announced that the fourth SEISS grant will be set at 80% of 3 months average trading profits paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500.A fifth grant covering May 2021 to September 2021 will be open to claims from late July 2021. The amount awarded will be determined by how much an operator’s turnover has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021. More information on support will be provided on GOV.UK by the end of June 2021.Operators can continue to apply for the Additional Restrictions Grant via their Local Authority, which is a discretionary grant to businesses not receiving other support or who are extremely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Industrial Disputes

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of the recent industrial dispute at the DVLA in Swansea on (a) employees of that organisation and (b) the public; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: The safety and welfare of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff is of paramount importance as it has been throughout the pandemic. Extensive measures are in place to support the wellbeing of staff and information on the services available to staff is regularly communicated.The DVLA’s online services remain available and are the quickest and easiest way to transact. Motorists are strongly advised to use these channels where possible. Paper applications are taking longer to process because of reduced numbers of staff on site. The ongoing industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union is inevitably harming some of the most vulnerable in society, as these are often the people who rely on less automated services which require DVLA staff to be working on site.

Shipping: Training

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many ratings were trained on tonnage tax qualifying vessels in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21.

Robert Courts: Based on the training commitment returns provided by companies paying tonnage tax prior to the commencement of each academic year, we have recorded that 25 ratings trainees were scheduled for 2019-20 and 20 were scheduled for 2020-21.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing a zero emissions vehicles mandate.

Rachel Maclean: The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, published in November 2020 announced that a Green Paper would be published later this year to consider the regulatory options available to deliver our 2030/35 phase out dates for the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles and support supply of electric vehicles to the UK market.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to decarbonise transport.

Rachel Maclean: We are developing a bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport, which we are working to publish as soon as possible. It will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meeting net zero by 2050.We have already taken significant steps towards this goal. This includes, but is not limited to, announcing the phase out of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, committing to support the introduction of 4,000 green buses through our recently published National Bus Strategy, investment and support for green fuels and new green transport technologies, and continued support for increasing cycling and walking through our Active Travel Fund.

Parking: Coronavirus

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has published guidance to local authorities on the issuing of a conditional offer of fixed penalty where covid-19 restrictions have impacted a person's ability to follow parking laws.

Rachel Maclean: The Department has published a wide range of guidance to local authorities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While no specific guidance on this matter has been published, other published guidance, including updated Network Management Duty statutory guidance, has encouraged local authorities to consider the wider impact to their network when implementing changes.

Great British Railways: Costs

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the set-up costs of Great British Railways.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the annual running costs of Great British Railways from 2023 when all franchises will have ended.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Transformation on this scale cannot happen overnight. The government is setting up a Rail Transformation Programme within the department and the rail industry to establish a common understanding of the vision, set out the phases of delivery and work collectively with the sector to design and implement this major programme. As a respected leader in the sector, Andrew Haines has been asked to develop plans for establishing interim arrangement, drawing on expertise across industry and beyond.Great British Railways will be able to make substantial net savings without detriment to service or fare levels by reducing duplication, interface costs and complexity. Savings from reform will take several years to realise, but industry experts suggest that after an initial five-year implementation period, substantial annual costs savings could be achieved.We will make an announcement on next steps in relation to setting up Great British Railways in due course.

Northwich Station: Safety

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the most recent full structural survey undertaken on Northwich Station by Network Rail or another organisation on Network Rail's behalf.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Network Rail is investigating this matter, in accordance with strict protocols, and is not currently in a position to comment. Additional inspections of comparable buildings are also being undertaken, to mitigate the risk of similar incidents across the North West route. The independent Office of Road and Rail is also conducting its own investigation into the Northwich incident. I will write to the Hon. Gentlemen with the findings once they have been published.

Railways: Franchises

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the annual cost to the Government was to operate the outgoing railways franchise model in each of the last five years.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Office of Rail and Road publishes annual statistics on the finances of the rail industry in the UK, which show the value of the Government’s financial support provided in each financial year. The publication provides data up to and including the 2019/20 financial year and is available on the following link at:https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance.The previous commercial model for rail franchising was superseded in March 2020 (at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK) with the introduction of Emergency Measures Agreements with train operators. Under those agreements, and their successors, most financial risk on franchised passenger train operations has been borne by the Government.The Department published statistics on operational support payments, and fees paid to operators, under the new arrangements that have applied since March 2020. The most recent published data covers the period until early February 2021 and is available on the Government website at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-payments-to-passenger-rail-operators-under-emergency-agreements.

Railways: Infrastructure

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2021 to Question 1178, if he will increase the rate to 100 per cent of journeys.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We are committed to improving rail access for all disabled passengers. By 2030, the Department’s ambition is to have equal access for disabled people using the transport system, with assistance if physical infrastructure remains a barrier.In addition to the measures set out in the recent rail reform White Paper, I will be bidding for further rounds of funding for Access for All schemes in the forthcoming Spending Review.

Travel: Coronavirus

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Canadian Government on resuming leisure travel with that country during the covid-19 pandemic.

Robert Courts: Department for Transport ministers and/or officials have met with Canadian counterparts on several occasions this year to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the safe, sustainable resumption of international travel. These discussions have been fruitful and we welcome further exchanges as we seek to cautiously balance the reopening of international travel with managing the public health risks.

Travel: Coronavirus

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterparts on resuming trans-Atlantic leisure travel during the covid-19 pandemic.

Robert Courts: The Secretary of State for Transport has discussed the resumption of trans-Atlantic travel with his US counterpart Secretary Pete Buttigieg, including at the UK-chaired G7 Transport Ministerial meeting on 5 May 2021.The Prime Minister and President have also agreed to form the joint UK-US Experts’ Working Group, which will share expertise and provide recommendations to leaders on the return of safe and sustainable trans-Atlantic travel.

Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to decarbonise aviation.

Robert Courts: It is critical that the aviation sector plays its part in delivering the UK’s net zero commitment and the Government is already supporting a variety of technology, fuel and market-based measures to address aviation emissions. We have also established the Jet Zero Council, a partnership between industry and government, to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions.The Government is clear that international action on aviation emissions is essential given the global nature of the sector, and so the UK remains fully committed to action through international processes and takes a leading role in the work of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reduce emissions from international aviation.We will be consulting on our strategy to achieve net zero aviation shortly, setting out the steps to reach net zero aviation emissions by 2050.

Transport for London: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will launch a public consultation on the conditions set out in future funding settlements with Transport for London, including on the restoration of that organisation's operating grant.

Rachel Maclean: Ministers and Officials at the Department for Transport hold regular discussions with key stakeholders on London Transport and funding. Alongside the extraordinary funding and financing support packages during the pandemic, the Government has made significant resources available to both Transport for London and the GLA, including new income from retained business rates, Business Rate Supplement and extended Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL2).

Transport: Greater London

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he plans to allow London to retain its share of Vehicle Excise Duty to pay for transport services in the capital.

Rachel Maclean: The Secretary of State confirmed in a letter to the Mayor of London on 1 June 2021, that any proposal to transfer Vehicle Excise Duty from the Exchequer to TfL is, in effect, a permanent Government Grant.The Government has provided over £4 billion of financial support to Transport for London since the start of the pandemic. These deals are proof of our commitment to moving TfL onto a more financially sustainable footing, with a target date for achieving financial sustainability of April 2023.

Bus Services: Transport for London

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the joint review with Transport for London of demand for buses scheduled in July 2021.

Rachel Maclean: In June the Government agreed a third extraordinary funding and financing package for Transport for London (TfL) worth around £1.08 billion. As part of this deal, the Mayor has agreed to carry out a review of service levels. This review is aimed at generating a range of service options to efficiently manage services and associated costs to support the achievement of financial sustainability by the target date of April 2023.We will continue to monitor passenger demand over this period to accurately assess service levels and keep Londoners moving.

Transport for London: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on steps TfL plans to take to raise an additional £500 million every year, in response to the most recent TfL funding agreement.

Rachel Maclean: In June the Government agreed a third extraordinary funding and financing package for Transport for London (TfL), worth around £1.08 billion. This deal takes steps to put TfL on a financially sustainable footing, including the identification of between £0.5-£1.0 billion of new/increased revenue sources by 2023.It is for the Mayor and TfL to lead this review and any consultation process, to ensure all stakeholders views are taken into consideration.

Travel: Coronavirus

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to publish the data used to inform the covid-19 traffic light system to help the travel industry to plan for reopening.

Robert Courts: The traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors.Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:genomic surveillance capabilityCOVID-19 transmission riskVariant of Concern transmission riskA summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.Ministers and officials have engaged extensively with the aviation and travel industries throughout the pandemic. We remain committed to an open engagement with the sector and continue to work with industry partners.

Motorways: Safety

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of (a) the safety of the distance between refuges on smart motorways (b) the potential need to review those distances as a result of safety issues and risk assessments.

Rachel Maclean: The Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan, published in March 2020, committed to a new standard for spacing of places to stop in an emergency. For future All Lane Running (ALR) Motorway schemes, places to stop in an emergency will be ¾ of a mile apart where feasible, with a maximum spacing of 1 mile apart. Highways England published the new design standard – GD 301 – in October 2020.The Stocktake Action Plan also made a commitment to consider a national programme of retrofitting on ALR motorways where places to stop in an emergency are more than one mile apart, drawing on evidence from the programme to deliver additional areas on the M25. That review will be completed by April 2022.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) the use of face coverings and (b) other covid-19 safety measures on public transport.

Rachel Maclean: The use of face coverings has been mandatory on public transport services since 15 June 2020, unless a passenger is exempt. The Department continues to work closely with our partners to ensure an effective approach to compliance and enforcement. Compliance rates are currently strong, indicating public support and observance of existing regulations. From 9 – 13 June, ONS data found that when asked, 98% of adults self-reported wearing face coverings when using public transport in England. Passengers are also advised to walk or cycle where possible, regularly wash/sanitise their hands, wear a face covering unless exempt and make sure the space is well ventilated by opening windows and maintaining social distancing where possible. The Department has also launched the ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ campaign to reset travel behaviours and support disabled people to return to the transport network.

Invalid Vehicles: Cycleways

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of allowing Class 3 mobility scooters to be used in cycle lanes.

Rachel Maclean: Mobility scooters can be used on footways, footpaths, bridleways or pedestrianised areas, provided that they are used in accordance with prescribed requirements. Larger mobility scooters, capable of going up to 8mph, are permitted to use the road. The Government does not have any current plans to review and update the places where mobility scooters are permitted to be used.

Highway Code

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's planned timetable is for the commencement of consultations on amending the Highway Code to take account of (a) improvements in technology and new forms of transport, (b) smart motorways, (c) the use of mobile phones, (d) pavement parking, (e) e-scooters and (f) rural road safety.

Rachel Maclean: Consultations have already commenced and closed for amendments to the Highway Code for automated vehicles, motorways and high-speed roads, and mobile phones. Of those, Highway Code amendments aiming to improve safety for users of motorways and high-speed roads were laid in parliament on 21 June. Trials on e-scooters are ongoing and the department will analyse the evidence gathered before deciding next steps, so there is no timescale for further consultation. A general consultation on measures to tackle pavement parking closed on 22 November and the Department is considering next steps. The Department currently has no plans to start consultations on amending rural road safety in The Highway Code, although, whilst not specific just to rural roads, amendments to protect vulnerable road users including the close passing of cyclists, pedestrians and horses have already been subject to consultation. A summary of responses, including the next steps, will be published shortly.

Transport for London: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement for Transport for London contains a number of conditions while the operational support payments to franchised passenger rail operators under emergency agreements contain no conditions.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is seeking to steer Transport for London towards a financially sustainable position by April 2023 and as well as offering substantial financial support, the Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement contains a number of conditions which reflect that position. This ensures that funding support achieves the best possible value for all taxpayers.

Railways: Infrastructure

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2021 to Question 1178, Railways: Infrastructure, what estimate he has made to the public purse of introducing infrastructure changes to ensure all rail journeys are fully accessible, following the publication of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As set out in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, Great British Railways will be given a statutory duty to improve accessibility - ensuring a joined-up and system-wide approach across the network. A comprehensive audit of station facilities will also be undertaken to provide robust and consistent information, and identify where improvements are needed. Further detail will be announced in due course.

Travel: Government Assistance

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support the travel industry.

Robert Courts: The Government recognises the challenging circumstances businesses in the travel industry face as a result of Covid-19. Firms, across the economy, that are experiencing difficulties have been able to draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor. This includes support through loan guarantees, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We estimate that the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.The extension of Government-backed loans and furlough payments announced at the Budget build on the support package available and will help ensure this vital and vibrant part of the UK economy is ready to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic.We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.

Railways

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timescale is for the publication of the Integrated Rail Plan.

Andrew Stephenson: We intend to publish the Integrated Rail Plan soon. Given the long-term significance of the IRP and the scale of investment it represents, it is important that the Department carefully considers the priorities and evidence from representatives from the North and Midlands as well as the National Infrastructure Commission’s Rail Needs Assessment.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to support the steel industry in Wales.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government is committed to a UK steel industry and a decarbonised future, supporting local economic growth and our levelling-up agenda. That is why the Government has provided over £500 million to the sector in recent years to help with the costs of electricity as well as announced a £250m Clean Steel Fund to support the sector’s transition to lower carbon iron and steel production. Moreover, our unprecedented package of COVID-19 support remains available to protect jobs and ensure that the industry has the right support during this challenging time. The Government fully recognises the importance of steelmaking in Wales. In July 2020, the Government provided Celsa with a commercial loan, which secured over 1000 jobs, including more than 800 positions at the company’s main sites in South Wales. We also continue to work closely with Tata as it shapes its business strategy to support the future of high-quality steelmaking in Port Talbot.

Nuclear Powered Vessels: Procurement

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that momentum is maintained behind the future build of the UK’s nuclear fleet.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government made clear its commitment to new nuclear in the 2020 Energy White Paper, setting out its aim to bring at least one large-scale project to a Final Investment Decision this parliament, subject to value for money and all relevant approvals. Alongside the White Paper, the Government announced it was entering negotiations on Sizewell C. The Government will also provide up to £385m for an Advanced Nuclear Fund for the next generation of nuclear technology aiming, by the early 2030s, to develop a Small Modular Reactor and to build an Advanced Modular Reactor demonstrator.

Green Homes Grant Scheme: Billing

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that businesses which carry out work through the Green Homes Grant scheme are paid on time.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The scheme administrator is working to ensure vouchers are paid as quickly as possible. Payment to installers is a four-step process. It requires the customer to confirm the work has been completed, the installer to lodge the work and the scheme administrator to undertake scheme checks before they can proceed to payment. Once it has reached the payment stage, the administrator aims to make payments within five-working days. However, if an inspection is deemed necessary then the process will take longer, especially given the current COVID-19 restrictions. As of 3 June 2021, 19,122 vouchers had been paid, with a total government contribution of £77 million.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Craig Tracey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of HS2 on the construction materials shortage for (a) other major projects in the construction sector and (b) the manufacturing and engineering sector.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government is aware that a range of building materials are in short supply nationally. This is driven by demand and increased global competition to secure supplies. At present, we do not have any information to suggest that demand from HS2 is having a material impact on supplies within the UK or on major projects in the construction, manufacturing and engineering sectors. However, the Government recognises that this is a critical situation and we are following events closely. The Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force has established a Product Availability Working Group, comprised of product manufacturers, builders’ merchants and suppliers, contractors of all sizes, and housebuilders. The Task Force continues to monitor the supply and demand of products, and identify those in short supply.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his strategy is for delivering onshore employment from offshore wind development; and what effect that strategy will have on Scotland.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government published its 10-point plan to build back better in November 2020. This increased the target for offshore wind to 40GW by 2030 and included £160m to support ports and the manufacturing supply chain across the UK. Allocation Round 4 of the Contract for Difference scheme will open later this year, with the aim of up to doubling the renewable energy capacity delivered from the previous round. In addition, we will imminently be publishing our revised Supply Chain Plan policy guidance and questionnaire, to align developers plans more closely with government priorities, including consequences for non-delivery of commitments. We have created the largest global market in offshore wind which alongside our actions set out above could deliver up to 60,000 jobs by 2030, right across the United Kingdom.

Heating: Housing

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of relaxing the First Time Central Heating requirement of the Energy Company Obligation for net-zero measures on the (a) number of left behind properties that would be moved out of fuel poverty and (b) decarbonisation of the housing stock.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government will shortly consult on proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation scheme, including any changes to first time central heating. The modelled impacts of the successor scheme will be set out in the accompanying Impact Assessment. This will include the associated carbon savings and the number of homes that are expected to be treated through the scheme.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure future investment in the UK’s nuclear sector after completion of Hinkley Point C.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper set out multiple plans and objectives for supporting the UK’s nuclear sector. For large-scale nuclear, we aim to bring at least one large-scale nuclear project to a Final Investment Decision this Parliament and entered negotiations with EDF on Sizewell C. A large-scale nuclear power plant could support a peak of around 10,000 jobs during construction and provide significant investment opportunities. Having consulted on the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model for funding new nuclear, we are continuing to discuss this model with project developers and to consider the potential role of Government finance during construction, provided there is value for money and subject to relevant approvals. We are also investing further in Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Modular Reactors. We announced the £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund, comprised of up to £215m to develop a domestic SMR power plant design and up to £170m for an ambitious AMR programme.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Employment and Training

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of continuity within the nuclear supply chain following the completion of Hinkley Point C on jobs and skills.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government is committed to further nuclear beyond Hinkley Point C, as set out in the Energy White Paper. Future nuclear projects can benefit from the expertise in the UK supply chain demonstrated at Hinkley, a project that EDF says will provide 25,000 employment opportunities and train over 1,000 apprentices. Alongside the White Paper, the Government announced it was entering into negotiations on Sizewell C, which EDF intends to replicate Hinkley - a strategy which should ensure continuity in UK supply chain jobs and skills.

Nuclear Power

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) monetary and (b) employment benefits from the UK’s nuclear supply chain to the North.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Oxford Economics’ Nuclear Economics Report 2016 suggests that the nuclear sector contributes approximately £6.4bn GVA to the UK economy, with each civil nuclear worker contributing an estimated average £96,600 – significantly higher than the UK average of £56,200. In 2018, the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group – of which BEIS is a member - estimated that the sector employed approximately 89,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs) across the UK, including in the north of England. The estimated figures are across the UK, but not specific to each of the regions.

Nuclear Power: Procurement

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the expertise of the UK nuclear supply chain is protected when the existing nuclear fleet comes offline.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: In June 2021, the Government announced new arrangements to work in partnership with EDF, the owners and operators of the UK’s existing nuclear power stations, to decommission the seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGR) stations when they cease generation. These seven AGR stations are all due to have closed by 2030, while the Pressurised Water Reactor, Sizewell B, will continue to operate well beyond 2030. Under the new arrangements EDF will defuel the AGR stations (remove the nuclear fuel) and then the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will take ownership of the stations on a rolling basis to manage the long term decommissioning programme. These arrangements will harness EDF’s unique expertise in defueling the AGR reactors and the NDA’s extensive experience of decommissioning nuclear plants and facilities in the UK. This approach will provide significant potential cost savings for the taxpayer and will provide for the skilled jobs of UK workers to continue during defueling and beyond.Meanwhile the Government is committed to ensuring that the UK nuclear supply chain has opportunities from future nuclear projects, whether further large-scale projects or Small Modular Reactors. Government support to help companies in the supply chain includes a commitment made in the Nuclear Sector Deal to develop – with industry – a £30m supply chain productivity and improvement programme designed in particular to help SMEs win work. Government is also requiring developers of future new build projects to set out opportunities for the supply chain in a Supply Chain Plan.

Motor Neurone Disease: Research

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to accelerate research into motor neurone disease.

Amanda Solloway: The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia and neurodegeneration, including motor neurone disease (MND). We are currently working on ways to significantly boost further research on dementia and neurodegeneration. In 2019/20, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through the Medical Research Council (MRC), spent around £13.4 million on Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research. This included research which aims to increase our understanding of the causes and genetic mechanisms of MND and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) a form of MND. Over 5 years (2015/16 - 2019/20) MRC expenditure relevant to MND and ALS totalled £45 million. In addition, UKRI, through the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, supports a diverse portfolio of neuroscience research and innovation totalling around £30 million per annum. This work may underpin MND research by furthering current understanding of the structure and function of the nervous system; cell biology and genetics; mental processes including learning and memory and neuro, Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care has spent over £10 million on MND research over the past five years through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2019/20 alone, the NIHR invested £2.7 million in MND research through NIHR research programmes and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on officials declaring personal relationships with business interests of relevance to the Department; and what steps his Department takes to enforce that guidance.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's guidance is on (a) personal relationships in the workplace (b) relationships between Ministers and officials and (c) ensuring equitable treatment of staff; and what steps his Department takes to enforce that guidance.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether political (a) advisers and (b) aides in his Department declared potential conflicts of interest in the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a policy governing personal relationships at work.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Travel: Quarantine

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people in mandatory covid-19 hotel quarantine are able to make claims for compensation.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pregnancy: Smoking

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy to include a target in the forthcoming Tobacco Control Plan to reduce the prevalence of women smoking during pregnancy to less than 6 per cent by the end of 2022.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis commenced a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended package of care within two weeks of referral in each month since March 2020 for which figures are available.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The information is not available in the format requested, as data is not currently recorded on whether the package of care a person receives includes treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Suicide

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase (a) resources and (b) funding streams for suicide prevention services.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are continuing to launch our suicide reduction programme across England, funded by £57 million by 2023/24, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in every area of the country to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services.In March 2021 we published our mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan alongside the latest progress report against the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Many of the actions in the plan will support people at risk of self-harm or suicide. An additional £500 million has been allocated to the plan in 2021/22, £5 million of which will be made available to support voluntary sector organisations who work to prevent suicide. A further £1 million will be used to bolster NHS England and NHS Improvement’s suicide prevention programme.

Endometriosis

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what plans his Department has to improve healthcare for women with endometriosis in those areas.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The information requested on endometriosis data is not held in the format requested. Improving healthcare for women with endometriosis across England will be considered as part of ongoing work on the Women's Health Strategy.

Obesity: Health Services

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which third parties his Department worked with to develop the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme.

Jo Churchill: NHS England have developed the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme with senior expert and clinical input including the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity, academic research organisations, primary care practitioners and National Health Service partner organisations including Public Health England and the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

Primary Health Care: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to allocate additional funding to primary care services; whether he has plans to allocate funding for the establishment of additional GP practices in (a) Enfield North, (b) Greater London and (c) England; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: We have committed at least an additional £1.5 billion in cash terms for general practice until 2023/24. This is in addition to the £4.5 billion real terms annual increase announced for primary and community care in the NHS Long Term Plan.NHS England and NHS Improvement have delegated commissioning responsibilities for primary medical services to all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs are responsible for planning primary medical care services provision in their areas, including carrying out needs assessments and decisions in relation to the management of Primary Medical Services Contracts and decisions in relation to the establishment of new general practitioner practices. NHS Enfield CCG advised that it recently commissioned an independent review of primary care capacity which concluded that there was sufficient provision of primary care in the north west locality of Enfield for the current and future population.

Obesity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to raise public awareness of obesity-linked illnesses.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England’s (PHE) Better Health campaign was launched in July 2020. Large scale broadcast advertising was combined with targeted digital marketing to reach and engage adults and help them achieve and maintain a healthy weight, ensuring they were better able to fight diseases, including COVID-19. PHE is currently reviewing activity and planning for the next phase of the campaign The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme identifies those at high risk of developing diabetes and refers them onto a behaviour change programme. It is part of a wider public health programme to prevent disease and promote good health, which includes a strong focus on tackling obesity

Radiotherapy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the Action Radiotherapy’s flash survey from May 2021, what plans his Department has to tackle the challenges facing the radiotherapy workforce including (a) capacity (b) covid-19-related pressures and (c) IT access.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional investment his Department is putting into (a) radiotherapy machines and (b) IT infrastructure and software to provide additional capacity in response to the cancer backlog following the covid-19 outbreak.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve working conditions for the radiotherapy workforce including (a) improving access to necessary IT infrastructure and (b) reducing pressures following the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: Health Education England (HEE) is continuing to take forward the cancer priorities identified in the NHS Long Term Plan and People Plan, including the training of 450 reporting radiographers.Cancer patients will continue to be prioritised within the National Health Service and will benefit from approximately £1 billion from the Spending Review to tackle the elective backlog.NHS England and NHS Improvement have also offered radiotherapy providers the opportunity of participating in a centrally funded three-year evaluation programme of a cloud-based information technology solution called ProKnow. This system will enable clinicians to collaborate virtually within and across services to plan treatments, undertake peer review processes and participate in large-scale audit and quality improvement processes. The Spending Review also made £32 million available to support the replacement of radiotherapy equipment in 2021-22 and work has already begun with trusts to identify need and allocate funds.

General Practitioners

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department is having with GPs on (a) demand for services, (b) average waiting times and (c) the availability of face-to-face appointments as covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Jo Churchill: The Department has regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement general practitioner representatives and professional bodies.  On 20 May 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement updated the guidance and standard operating procedure for general practice, confirming that practices should be offering remote and face to face appointments with the appropriate member of the practice team, taking account of patient need.

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2021 to Question 3942 on Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review, what Government progress the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Review is monitoring as at 14 June 2021.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Eating Disorders: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the Government has allocated to eating disorder services for children and young people in each of the last five years.

Ms Nadine Dorries: This information is not collected centrally.

Mesothelioma: Immunotherapy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of trialling CAR T Cell Therapy for the treatment of Mesothelioma.

Edward Argar: The Department funds and supports research into health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR is supporting the delivery of the study ‘Immunotherapy for malignant mesothelioma using ErbB re-targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells in combination with checkpoint inhibition’ funded by the Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Partnership.

Obesity: Children

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of a possible rise in childhood obesity due to inactivity during lockdown and what steps he is taking to tackle this.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England has not made such an assessment as the data is not yet available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps should people take who have moved to the UK, and who have received one dose of a non-UK approved covid-19 vaccine, to complete their covid-19 vaccination.

Nadhim Zahawi: Individuals should speak to their general practitioner or contact 119, to arrange a second dose after moving to the United Kingdom.As set out in ‘COVID-19 vaccination: information for healthcare practitioners’ if a person has received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine overseas that is also available in the United Kingdom, they should receive the same vaccine for their second dose provided they meet UK eligibility criteria. If the vaccine they received for their first dose is not available in the UK, the most similar alternative should be offered.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what reciprocal arrangements with the Welsh Government exist for the vaccination against covid-19 of Welsh residents temporarily living in England and English residents temporarily living in Wales.

Nadhim Zahawi: Individuals who live in Wales can access their COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in England, and vice versa. This is in line with existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements between England and Wales.Work is ongoing to transfer data between England and the devolved administrations to ensure that vaccinations which occur outside of the patient’s ‘home’ nation are delivered to their patient record.

Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement a plan to improve maternal outcomes for Black women.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Chief Midwifery Officer, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, is leading work to understand why mortality rates are higher, consider evidence about what will reduce mortality rates and take action to improve equity in outcomes for mothers and their babies. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working to develop an equity strategy that will focus on reducing disparities for women and their babies from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups and those living in the most deprived areas.The NHS Long Term Plan commits to ensuring that by 2024, 75% of BAME groups and a similar proportion of women who live in the most deprived areas, will receive continuity of care from their midwife throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period.

Anorexia

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people with anorexia.

Ms Nadine Dorries: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron MP) on 1 June 2021 to Question 5175.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what checks his Department carried out to ensure that surgeons awarded NHS contracts for the removal of failed vaginal mesh implants had not previously been responsible for (a) originally implanting them, and subsequently (b) denying that anything had gone wrong with them; and whether any personnel awarded NHS contracts to work at mesh remediation specialist centres are known by his Department to be currently facing legal proceedings for implanting mesh which injured women who are now seeking its removal at such centres.

Ms Nadine Dorries: It is the responsibility of the employing organisations to ensure that the staff undertaking mesh implantation and/or dealing with mesh complications are qualified and competent to do so. NHS England’s procurement process to identify the specialist centres to deal with the complications of mesh considered a range of clinical and service quality issues. No assessment was undertaken regarding National Health Service contracts or staff facing legal proceedings.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people referred to Access to Psychological Therapies services started treatment within (a) six weeks of referral and (b) 18 weeks of referral for each month since March 2020 for which figures are available.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The following table shows the percentage of adults aged 16 years and over who completed a course of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies treatment referred within six and 18 weeks of referral.MonthPercentage of completers who were treated within six weeks from referralPercentage of completers who were treated within 18 weeks from referralMarch 202087.1%97.7%April 202086.2%97.4%May 202087.0%97.6%June 202086.5%97.4%July 202087.5%97.6%August 202089.1%97.8%September 202090.4%97.8%October 202091.1%97.9%November 202091.7%98.1%December 202092.7%98.5%January 202192.7%98.7%February 202192.3%98.7%March 202192.3%98.8% Source: NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Dataset, NHS Digital

Miscarriage

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the care for women who experience a miscarriage.

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to record the national rate of miscarriages.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have funded SANDs, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to produce and support a National Bereavement Care Pathway to reduce the variation in National Health Service bereavement care. The pathway covers a range of circumstances of a baby loss including miscarriage.The Women’s Health Strategy call for evidence sought to examine women’s experiences of the whole health and care system, including issues such as fertility, pregnancy and baby loss. We are analysing responses on miscarriage to ensure that the strategy reflects what women identify as priorities. We will consider recording all miscarriages as part of this work.

Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is going to implement the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights Eleventh Report of Session 2019–21, Black people, racism and human rights, relating to Black Maternal Health.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Joint Committee on Human Rights report recommends that the Government introduces a target to end the disparity in maternal mortality between black and white women.Work is being undertaken by the Chief Midwifery Officer for England to understand why mortality rates are higher, consider evidence about what will reduce mortality rates and take action to improve equity in outcomes and experience of care for mothers and their babies. Research is also being carried by the Policy Research Unit in Maternal and Neonatal Health and Care at the University of Oxford to better understand the reasons for any disparity, assess local variation and also identify areas with less disparity and hence best practice. The Department does not plan to introduce a target to reduce inequalities in maternity outcomes in England whilst this work takes place.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients have more access to their healthcare data.

Ms Nadine Dorries: On 22 June, the Department published a draft strategy for health and social care which puts forward our vision to bring people closer to their data and understand how that data is used. This includes making sure that the technology is in place to enable everyone across England to have easy access to their own health and care data and to view which research their data has informed.

Miscarriage

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the support and advice offered to women who experience miscarriages in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have not made a recent assessment.The Women’s Health Strategy call for evidence sought to examine women’s experiences of the whole health and care system, including female-specific issues such as fertility, pregnancy and baby loss, which is a core area of women’s health. We are analysing responses on miscarriages to ensure that the strategy reflects what women identify as priorities.

Wales Office

Coronavirus: Wales

Beth Winter: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on financial support for people in Wales affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on our financial support to people affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.We have provided the Welsh Government with an extra 8.6 billion pounds to tackle the pandemic, that’s over £2,700 per person in Wales. That is on top of 7.4 billion pounds of additional UK Wide support through the welfare system.

Businesses: Coronavirus

Theresa Villiers: What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help businesses in Wales recover from the effects of the covid-19 outbreak.

David T C Davies: I have regular discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on how to support Welsh Businesses build back better from the pandemic.The UK Government has provided 3 billion pounds in direct support to businesses in Wales, in addition to the extra 8.6 billion pounds given to the Welsh Government to tackle the pandemic.

Department for Education

Educational Institutions: Sexual Offences

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the finding of Ofsted's report on sexual abuse in schools and colleges published 10 June 2021, that LGBT+ children and young people reported a big gap between staff’s knowledge of incidents and their daily experience of harmful sexual behaviour, what steps he is taking to close that gap; and what support is being provided to LGBTQ+ young people experiencing that harmful behaviour.

Vicky Ford: The government’s guidance to schools is clear that, whilst anyone can be a victim of abuse, schools and colleges should recognise that some groups of children, including LGBTQ+, are potentially more at risk than others from child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment. Therefore, when we developed the relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE) curriculum, we worked with a wide range of stakeholders and representative groups. We made sure that care and attention were taken when developing the support and guidance for LGBTQ+ pupils and their teachers. The RSHE curriculum teaches pupils how to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Pupils are taught how to report concerns and seek advice when they suspect or know that something is wrong.Part 1 of the ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance provides advice on peer-on-peer abuse, including the indicators and signs to look for, how to identify it, and how to respond to reports. Part 5 of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ provides detailed guidance on managing reports of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment. The Department for Education’s ‘Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Between Children’ advice includes more detailed information on what sexual violence and sexual harassment look like, important context, legal duties, and advice on a whole-school approach to preventing abuse.We have asked schools to dedicate time from INSET days to focus on training and preparations for delivering the RSHE curriculum and safeguarding. We are also extending our designated safeguarding lead support and supervision programme, with a specific focus on sexual harassment and abuse, and will share the learning from that work with all schools. We have also set up a specific National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ‘Reporting Abuse in Education’ helpline to offer advice and make referrals when necessary. The number is 0800 136 663.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to university tuition fees for prospective students starting courses in the academic year 2021-22 who have been granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, whether the three-year residency rule relating to eligibility for home fee status excludes those ordinarily resident for the purpose of receiving full-time education in the last three years; what determines the main purpose of residence for a person who has been ordinarily resident in the UK to live with family or a partner as well as receiving full-time education during that same time period; and if his Department will expand the section entitled Settled status on page 4 to 5 of its document entitled, New eligibility rules for home fee status and student finance for the 2021-22 academic year, published in December 2020, to ensure that information on that matter is clear for prospective students.

Michelle Donelan: EU, other European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals, and their family members who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreements will continue to have access to home fee status and student financial support on broadly the same basis as now, subject to meeting the usual residency requirements, which are unchanged. Generally, this covers those who:are living in the UK by 31 December 2020 having exercised a right to reside under EU law, the EEA Agreement or the Free Movement of Persons Agreement; andcontinue to live in the UK after 31 December 2020.Such persons will generally have applied for pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before 30 June 2021, apart from Irish citizens, who are not required to apply as their rights will be protected as a result of Common Travel Area arrangements.From 1 July 2021, a person eligible for the EUSS will be able to make a late application where there are reasonable grounds why they missed the 30 June 2021 deadline.Those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, and who have been granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, will generally be eligible for home fee status, tuition fee, and maintenance support if they have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least 3 years.In a case where that person's ordinary residence in the UK and Islands was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, they must have been ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the European Economic Area or Switzerland immediately beforehand.The requirement that ordinary residence be not wholly or mainly for the purpose of education is not a new requirement. It formed part of the previous rules which have been retained post-exit for those with EU settled status.Student Finance England will determine on a case-by-case basis whether an applicant has been resident in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. However, generally a student would not be prevented from qualifying for support simply because they have been receiving full-time education during some or all of the 3 year prescribed period where, for example, the main purpose of their residence in the UK is to be with their family.All settled persons who are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, including British citizens, must meet the requirement to have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least 3 years, and not wholly or mainly for the purposes of education.The department regularly reviews its guidance and will publish updates in due course.

Students: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when applications will open for students to apply for postgraduate student loans for the academic year 2021-22.

Michelle Donelan: The Student Loans Company launched its application system for postgraduate loans for the 2021/22 academic year on 28 June 2021.

Department for Education: Data Protection

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 179576 on Department for Education: Data Protection, on what date he plans to publish an update on the Information Commissioner's Office’s audit on his Department.

Nick Gibb: The Department published its formal response in January 2021 in the House Library, paper reference DEP2021-0072. This contained an undertaking to publish an update in June.A further update to the original publication detailing progress and the recommendations that have been successfully met will now be placed in the Libraries of both Houses on or before 22 July 2021.

Training: Universal Credit

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to reform universal credit rules to ensure that no claimant is prevented from accessing training that will help them find meaningful employment.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how he plans to work with the (a) Department of Work and Pensions and (b) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to embed the role of education into the employment and jobs strategy.

Gillian Keegan: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, have already been working on Universal Credit matters, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a temporary extension to the length of time people can undertake training to develop work-related skills and qualifications, whilst still receiving Universal Credit to support their living costs. The length of time that Universal Credit claimants can spend on work-related, full-time training has been extended from up to 8 weeks to up to 12 weeks throughout the UK, and up to 16 weeks in England for the purpose of attending Skills Bootcamps. The change was implemented on 26 April and will run for a 6-month period, after which time the impact of this change will be reviewed.There is already close and cross working across the government in respect of skills and employment. In England, the pre-employment training element of the DWP-led sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) is funded by the Department for Education through the adult education budget, which in several regions is managed by the relevant mayoral combined authority. The department is working with DWP to help deliver the extra 80,000 SWAP places for financial year 2021/22 announced by DWP in February this year. Professional, impartial careers information, advice and guidance underpins the range of measures being offered via the Plan For Jobs. Careers advisers help individuals and organisations to consider the different programmes, including apprenticeships, traineeships, Kickstart, SWAP, learning and upskilling opportunities, and help them to determine which route would be best for them. The department continues to work closely with DWP to make sure that our respective offers for job seekers and universal credit claimants complement each other and that customers enjoy a joined-up user experience, which helps them to progress.The department is also working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the green jobs task force, which focuses on the immediate and longer-term challenges of delivering skilled workers for the UK’s transition to a net zero agenda.

Agriculture: Curriculum

David Johnston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including agriculture in the national curriculum.

Nick Gibb: The National Curriculum already includes topics related to agriculture such as food production, the environment, and types of land use in subjects such as geography, design and technology and science.In the geography curriculum schools must teach pupils to describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water. This is built upon in secondary schools where pupils are taught to understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate.In science, pupils are taught to explore the requirements of plants for life and growth and how they vary from plant to plant. Guidance advises schools to support their teaching through the use the local environment throughout the year to observe how plants grow. Pupils should be introduced to the requirements of plants for germination, growth and survival, as well as the processes of reproduction and growth in plants.The design and technology curriculum states that as part of their work with food, pupils should be taught to understand where food comes from, understand seasonality and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the Department expects schools to cover in each subject and teachers have the flexibility and freedom to determine how they deliver the content in the way that best meets the needs of their pupils. If teachers wish, they can choose to cover particular topics in greater depth, for example food and farming.

Apprentices: Arts and Design

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing further support to fund apprenticeship placements in the arts and design sector.

Gillian Keegan: We are committed to supporting employers of all sizes to offer apprenticeships, including in the arts and design sectors. In the 2021-22 financial year, we are making available £2.5 billion to support apprenticeships in all employers, irrespective of their size.There are over 50, employer-designed, apprenticeship standards in the creative and design industry available for employers to use, ranging from a level 3 Costume Performance Technician, to level 4 Media Production co-ordinator and level 7 Storyboard Artists. To support employers in the arts and design and other sectors to offer new apprenticeships, we have increased the incentive payments for employers to £3,000 for each new apprentice they hire as a new employee between 1 April and 30 September 2021.We are making it easier for employers to make full use of their levy funds. Levy-paying employers can transfer up to 25% of their annual funds to help support apprenticeship starts in their supply chain or to meet local skills needs. In August 2021 we are launching a new online service to match levy payers with small to medium-sized enterprises to simplify the process for employers who pay the levy to be able to pledge funds.We are also working closely with the creative industries to make apprenticeships more flexible. In July we are launching a £7 million fund to support flexi-job apprenticeships schemes which will help sectors with flexible employment patterns and short-term roles, such as arts and design, to benefit from the high-quality training that apprenticeships can offer its workforce.

Further Education: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to increase long-term funding to meet the needs of the further education sector.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing an additional £291 million in 16-19 education in the 2021/22 financial year. This is in addition to the £400 million awarded in the 2019 Spending Review. This will allow us to maintain the base rate of funding at £4,188 for all types of providers and to continue with the increased funding for high value and high cost subjects, including the High Value Courses Premium. Overall, there has been an increase in cash terms of funding per student of over 9% in published allocations for the 2020/21 academic year compared with the 2019/20 academic year. This is following the rate increases in the 2019 Spending Review, and these higher rates will be maintained in 2021/22 allocations.We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB): £1.34 billion in the 2020/21 academic year.Future funding for 16-19 and AEB provision beyond 2021/22 is subject to the upcoming Spending Review.We are also investing £138 million from the National Skills Fund for Free Courses for Jobs and Skills Bootcamps offers over the current Spending Review period. We remain committed to £2.5 billion investment, in England, for the National Skills Fund across five years.In the 2021/22 financial year, funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is almost £2.5 billion, double what was spent in 2010/11.We are supporting employers to increase the use of apprenticeships by increasing the incentive payments for employer to £3,000 for each new apprentice they hire as a new employee.

Pupil Premium

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's announcement that the pupil premium will be calculated based on eligible pupils recorded by schools in October 2020, when his Department plans to publish the new pupil premium rates for each local education authority in England.

Nick Gibb: On 24 June 2021, the Department published the annual pupil premium allocations, which shows how much pupil premium funding each school and local authority will receive in the 2021/22 financial year. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.Total pupil premium funding is increasing to more than £2.5 billion in 2021/22 financial year, up by £60 million from the previous financial year. This reflects an increase in funding in approximately two thirds of schools, as more children have become eligible for free school meals (FSM). The increase is spread across the country, with pupil premium funding increasing in 87% of local authorities. For comparison, 77% of local authorities saw an increase in their total pupil premium funding last year.The pupil premium rates for the 2021/22 financial year will be the same as in the 2020/21 financial year: £1,345 per head for the number of primary aged pupils recorded as claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years (“Ever6-FSM”)£955 per head for the number of eligible secondary-aged pupils (Ever6-FSM)£2,345 per head for ‘Pupil Premium Plus’, which supports the needs of Looked After children (paid to local authorities) and those who left care in England and Wales through adoption or other court orders (paid to schools). For mainstream and special schools, the Department has based pupil premium funding for the 2021/22 financial year on the October 2020 census data, instead of using the January census. Alongside the annual pupil premium publication, we have also published the financial impact of moving to using the October census which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-effective-use-and-accountability.The move to using the October census brings the pupil premium in line with how the rest of the core schools’ budget is calculated. The change also provides earlier clarity for schools on their allocations. From next year, the annual pupil premium allocations will be published in March.The effect of the census change should not be viewed in isolation. We are investing in an ambitious education recovery programme worth £3 billion. This includes £302 million for the Recovery Premium, to further support disadvantaged pupils with their attainment. This is on top of the £14 billion additional school funding we are providing over three years. The additional funding schools will receive through the Recovery Premium alone will far exceed the financial effect of the census change.

British Students Abroad

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department is issuing to universities on continuing study abroad programmes for students for the academic year 2021-22.

Michelle Donelan: For any forthcoming international mobility in education, regardless of how it is funded, we expect all universities, colleges and schools managing these to follow the relevant Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice for the destination country and to highlight this to their participants, being aware that the situation can change.We suggest anyone who may be affected discuss their placement with their provider, being conscious that their placement may not be able to continue as originally planned, but there may be opportunities for it to start at a later date if the situation changes and this is feasible. Participants should be ready to comply with local isolation, testing or quarantine requirements, and will need to rely on the local health system.Turing Scheme and Erasmus+ mobilities will both be in operation during the 2021/22 academic year.Current government guidance for Turing Scheme, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps travel is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#travel-guidance-for-erasmus-and-european-solidarity-corps-exchanges.FCDO travel advice per country can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Special Educational Needs

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of waiting times for receiving assessments for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support.

Vicky Ford: The department does not hold data on waiting times for a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan (EHCP), but does hold data on the number and percentage of EHCPs that are issued within the statutory 20 week timescale in the publication ‘Education, health and care plans’ available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.In the 2020 calendar year, 58% of EHCPs were issued within the 20 week timescale, excluding cases where exceptions apply.

Ministry of Justice

Breastfeeding: Public Places

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to protect breastfeeding mothers from being photographed in public.

Chris Philp: This behaviour may already be captured by existing offences. However, we are keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the changes in technology, including the misuse of photography, social media, imagery, and the opportunities to abuse and upset others that such developments can bring. We have therefore asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected. It is important that any changes to the law in such sensitive areas, are thoroughly assessed and fully evidenced. The review has looked at the question of non-consensual photography in public places, including whether recording and sharing images of breastfeeding should be captured as “intimate” imagery for the purposes of any reformed criminal law. The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.

Family Courts: Domestic Abuse and Offences Against Children

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that victims of (a) domestic abuse and (b) child sexual exploitation are supported by the family court system.

Kit Malthouse: Addressing domestic abuse and improving support and outcomes for victims is a top priority for the government. In 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice will provide just under £151m for cross-jurisdictional victim and witness support services.The Domestic Abuse Act prohibits cross-examination of victims by perpetrators and provides for automatic eligibility for special measures for victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Act also clarifies that barring orders are available to parents and children where further proceedings would risk causing harm, including where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse.In addition to measures included in the Domestic Abuse Act, we are working with partners across the family justice system to deliver on other commitments set out in response to the June 2020 Final Report of the Expert Panel on Risk of Harm in the family courts. We are committed to system-wide reform to transform how survivors of domestic abuse are treated in the family courts and will be trialling Integrated Domestic Abuse Courts later this year to introduce a more investigative, and less adversarial approach to proceedings.On child sexual exploitation in the family court, Cafcass practitioners use a specially designed child sexual exploitation screening tool. Where concerns are identified, Cafcass liaises with other agencies (including referral to Children’s Services or the allocated social worker where the child is already known) to ensure that there is multiagency information sharing and support.Listening to the child’s experiences and acting quickly to link the child with all relevant support services, is a vital aspect of responding to the needs of these young people.

Probation: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will visit York and accompany the Member for York Central on a visit to a probation hostel in York.

Alex Chalk: The Lord Chancellor would be happy to discuss a visit to a probation hostel with Rachel Maskell.

Full Sutton Prison: Planning

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to meet any of the people objecting to the new prison complex at Full Sutton to listen to their concerns.

Alex Chalk: Prior to outline planning being granted for a new prison at Full Sutton in 2019, senior officials from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) met residents to hear their concerns alongside a pre-application public consultation, where comments on the plans could be submitted for consideration. Since outline planning was granted, further community consultation took place this year for the construction of a new ditch, and most recently for the Reserved Matters Application. The MoJ regularly meets councillors and parish councillors on a virtual basis, but has been unable to hold face-to-face events in June as planned due to COVID restrictions being extended. We plan to carry out some in person consultations when these restrictions ease.

Prisons: Domestic Visits

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times he has visited a prison since being appointed on 24 July 2019.

Alex Chalk: The Lord Chancellor has visited a prison 7 times since 24th July 2019. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fewer visits have taken place than planned but the Lord Chancellor has recently resumed visits in line with COVID restrictions.

Youth Custody

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to increase the provision of places in secure children’s homes.

Alex Chalk: Latest published statistics show that there were 550 children and young people (including 18-year olds) in custody at the end of April 2021; historically low numbers. Of this number, 66 were placed in a Secure Children’s Home (SCH). There are almost 70% fewer children in custody than there were ten years ago. There is currently sufficient capacity for justice beds in SCHs, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. It remains our long-term position to replace Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions with Secure Schools, supported by SCHs.

Youth Custody: Inspections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure that improvement plans and responses to inspection recommendations are (a) clear, (b) prompt and (c) consistent.

Alex Chalk: We recognise the importance and the transparency independent scrutiny provide. We treat recommendations made by the independent scrutiny bodies with the utmost seriousness and expect all providers – public and private - to act upon them in a timely and robust manner. Scrutiny body heads regularly meet with Ministry of Justice officials to discuss their findings including areas of good practice and areas of concern. There are separate regular meetings between the Youth Custody Service (YCS) Executive Director and the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, and with Ofsted. We introduced quarterly meetings with HMI Prisons, HMI Probation and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to strategically discuss their findings to improve performance and better outcomes. These meetings draw together scrutiny body findings and discuss thematic concerns and good practice. Quarterly meetings are chaired by senior MoJ officials, with participation from scrutiny body heads and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS also works with youth establishments to provide assurance that recommendations are acted upon quickly and effectively. This includes an annual organised programme to ensure delivery in key areas. In regular contract management discussions with the provider that monitor and scrutinise performance, the YCS has been clear that they need to identify and address the themes that underpin the recommendations. This applies to both inspectorate, YCS monitoring findings as well as departmental assurance processes to clearly demonstrate necessary action is being taken where required.

Youth Custody: Standards

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is strong integration and communication between youth custody officers and specialist staff on the management of particular children.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure that frontline youth custody staff are consulted on management decisions to move particular children to a different residential unit.

Alex Chalk: Those working day-to-day with children should be supported by a structure that equips them to do the best work possible with that child. That includes frontline staff being part of formulating plans for how best to support and care for children. The YCS is working with the contractor G4S which manages Oakhill Secure Training Centre (STC) on a range of steps to better support frontline staff. Oakhill STC is adjusting how they deploy their staff to be more efficient and allow them to attend review meetings relating to children they work closely with. As part of this, mental health professionals will form part of the initial training for staff to help them better understand how these issues can shape the way they work.

Youth Custody: Labour Turnover

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure the retention of long-serving and experienced frontline staff in the Youth Custody Service.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure that training and recruitment processes are adequate to ensure that significant numbers of frontline youth custody staff do not leave immediately following their eight week induction programmes.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to reduce the attrition rate of youth custody staff.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of high rates of staff attrition on the (a) safety and (b) rehabilitative efficacy of the youth custody service.

Alex Chalk: The YCS have planned a workshop with the Secure Training Centres (STCs) to be held in late June 2021 to focus on potential solutions to recruitment and retention issues in the sector. Additionally, we have made available a youth justice qualification to staff at STCs as well as public sites. The enrolment costs of the qualification are paid for by the YCS and staff can complete the qualification to enhance their skills in their current role or build their future career within youth custody. We believe that this will help support staff and provide them with the skills and confidence needed to deal with children in custody. The contractor at Oakhill, G4S also implemented a range of changes to their offer to staff in recent years, including reviewing working patterns and terms and conditions. Whilst levels of staffing in relation to private sites sit with contractors, we continue to monitor the position and work closely with G4S to ensure issues around staffing and retention are addressed.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre: Crimes of Violence

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the causes of the very high level of violence against staff in March 2021.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what lessons Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has identified from the two serious incidents of violence against HMP Oakhill staff noted in the report.

Alex Chalk: There are a number of factors that led to children at Oakhill STC feeling frustrated, resulting in a higher level of violence against staff in March 2021. Oakhill STC experienced a COVID-19 outbreak from 4 January to 8 March, meaning several children and staff had to isolate. This led to a significantly reduced timetable for children and limited mixing. Even after the outbreak had concluded, the STC still faced ongoing Covid-related staffing pressures, meaning the regime for children was inconsistent and some schemes could not be implemented fully.The centre has taken several steps in order to learn lessons from the incidents that took place.The Oakhill STC leadership team collated the learning they identified from the two incidents, with frontline staff briefed in small groups on the findings. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) also provided incident management training to staff at Oakhill STC.HMPPS Monitors, reviewed the performance at Oakhill in April, partly in response to the concerns around stability at the time. Among other points considered in this review were the effectiveness of the STC’s Behaviour Management Strategy, which incentivises and promotes positive behaviour, minimises behaviour that can cause harm, and tackles unacceptable behaviour. These lessons from this report have formed an action plan at Oakhill STC.Additionally, the Youth Custody Service arranged for a HMPPS senior manager to visit the site this month to review governance around use of force at the centre. Recommendations from that visit will be taken forward to improve safety for both staff and children.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that the use of smaller bubble groups have increased tensions and conflicts between children.

Alex Chalk: The Youth Custody Service (YCS) remains committed to improving safety for children in custody. We are continuing to invest in staff, education, psychology services and mental health support, underpinned by the SECURE STAIRS framework of integrated care which provides the foundations for how the YCS works with children. Additionally, we are also carrying out work to ensure that lessons learned from the COVID-19 period are taken into account going forwards. The YCS commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate lessons from pandemic and the results will further inform recovery planning. Early indications from YCS learning show that the vast majority of children reported feeling safe during the early period of the restrictions, with some reporting feeling safer than previous periods of time spent in custody. Furthermore, we have also observed through early research that there were positive reports of relationships among the children and between children and staff. One of the key responses to the pandemic was to operate within smaller groups, and it is therefore considered plausible that these smaller group interactions positively contributed to both feelings of safety and relationships within sites.

Marriage: Humanism

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the announcement of 20 June 2021 that secondary legislation will be brought forward to permit outdoor civil wedding and partnership registrations, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to legally recognise humanist marriages on the same basis.

Alex Chalk: A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.

Marriage: Humanism

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting legal recognition to humanist marriages on the same time-limited basis as proposed for outdoor civil marriages.

Alex Chalk: A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Freedom of Information

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2021 to Question 15188, what assessment she made of the compatibility of the Answer that interactions with the Cabinet Office Clearing House are not recorded with the entries made in her Department's Freedom of Information case management system recording interactions with the Cabinet Office Clearing House on the handling of the Freedom of Information request FOI2021/01332.

Greg Hands: I can confirm that the Department does not maintain a record of the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests referred to Cabinet Office Clearing House as was asked in Question 15188.FOI requests are referred to the Clearing House in line with the published criteria available on gov.uk.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gulf Strategy Fund

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the spending of the Gulf Strategy Fund was for financial year 2020-21, broken down by state.

James Cleverly: In 2020/21 the Gulf Strategy Fund was allocated £8.4 million to support programmes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and a number of regional programmes including Alumni Network, Cyber Ambassador, Science and Innovation Partnership Programme, Tax Reform and UK-Gulf Marine Environment Partnership. Summaries of 2021-22 projects will be published in the future.

Gaza: Israel

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their Israeli counterparts on the effect of recent airstrikes on the ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

James Cleverly: The UK welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May. As the Prime Minister has made clear, Israel, the Palestinians and leaders in the region must now work together to find a durable solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict that prevents terrorism, ends the cycle of violence, and delivers a sustainable and just peace based on a two state solution. The UK continues to work with the parties and regional partners to urge de-escalation and efforts to tackle the drivers of conflict.

India: Agriculture

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the potential effect of agricultural reforms on lower income farmers in that country.

Nigel Adams: We recognise the interest in the Government of India's agricultural reform programme. It was among the topics that the Foreign Secretary discussed with Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar when they met in December 2020 during his visit to India. We consider, however, that agricultural reform is a domestic issue for India and that it is not for the UK to make public assessments about it.

Members: Correspondence

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department responds to the letter to the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth from the hon. Member for Falkirk of 17 May 2021, regarding a constituent, Nabila Khan, who is stranded in Pakistan.

Nigel Adams: A response was sent on 25 May 2021, and an additional copy has been sent to the Member's office.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) process and (b) criteria his Department uses to determine which flags it flies from its buildings.

Nigel Adams: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what flags his Department plans to fly from its buildings in the week commencing 28 June 2021.

Nigel Adams: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of flying the Commonwealth flag from his Departmental buildings on every day of the year.

Nigel Adams: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Uganda: Freedom of Expression and Politics and Government

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Uganda on alleged attacks on (a) freedom of speech and (b) members of the opposition in that country.

James Duddridge: The UK Government is concerned about restrictions placed on freedom of expression and the treatment of opposition candidates and their supporters in the run-up to and since the Ugandan elections. In my post-election statement, I urged the Government of Uganda to meet its human rights commitments and to respect the right of freedom of speech for all Ugandans. I have raised my concerns over the treatment of the opposition, including the reports of missing persons and arbitrary detention with the then Ugandan Foreign Minister, Sam Kutesa, on 21 April 2021 and with the Ugandan High Commissioner on 16 June, and urged the Government of Uganda to solve these issues swiftly.The UK, along with 17 members of the Media Freedom Coalition, issued a statement in the week of the election expressing concern about the situation for journalists and media freedom in Uganda. We called for the Ugandan authorities to investigate attacks on the press and hold those responsible to account, ensuring that journalists are provided with the necessary protections, accreditation, and access that they need to do their jobs. As a long-standing partner to Uganda, the UK will continue to press for the rights of all Ugandans to be upheld.

Zimbabwe: Freedom of Expression and Politics and Government

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Zimbabwe on alleged attacks on (a) freedom of speech and (b) members of the the opposition in that country.

James Duddridge: The UK remains concerned about the current political situation in Zimbabwe, particularly human rights violations and the pattern of arrests of prominent opposition, civil society figures and journalists. We remain clear that the Government of Zimbabwe must meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law, safeguarding human rights and committing to genuine political and economic reform for the benefit of all Zimbabweans.We regularly engage with the Government of Zimbabwe to urge them to adhere to their international human rights obligations and respect the freedoms and rights enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution. On 9 June, I spoke with Foreign Minister Shava and emphasised our human rights concerns and the need for reform. In addition, we coordinate closely with our international partners, including the G7, to ensure we are bringing coordinated pressure to bear. We will continue to speak out, both privately and in public, where we have concerns, and, work alongside the international community to support a better future for all Zimbabweans.

Ethiopia: Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) humanitarian access, (b) food insecurity and (c) allegations of serious human rights abuses and atrocities in Ethiopia.

James Duddridge: The UK Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia. Over 350,000 people are assessed to be in famine-like conditions - more than anywhere else in the world. The UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer visited Tigray in May and concluded that region-wide famine in Tigray is now likely if conflict intensifies and impediments to the delivery of humanitarian aid continue. The UK with other G7 leaders have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unimpeded humanitarian access as set out in the G7 Summit Communique of 13 June. All G7 nations and the EU, along with a growing number of other nations have joined the UK's call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.We are appalled by systematic killing of civilians, widespread rape, including of children, indiscriminate shelling and the forcible displacement of ethnic Tigrayans. Those responsible for such abuses and violations need to be held to account. We welcome the joint Enquiry of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into human rights violations and abuses in Tigray, and continue to press for unfettered access to the region and victims. The UK will support the UNOHCHR to ensure that their joint investigation into atrocities in Tigray with the EHRC is independent, transparent and impartial. The UK further welcomes the proposed African Union Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights, calls for the Government of Ethiopia to allow access to this inquiry and is in touch with the African Union on how we might support this effort.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the G7 pledge of 13 June 2021 on covid-19 vaccines for COVAX and low and middle income countries, what estimate he has been made of the total cost of the 100 million doses pledged.

Wendy Morton: Our G7 Presidency has championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. We will share 100 million vaccine doses within the next year, 30 million of which will be shared by the end of 2021, and we are already sharing the first 5 million doses in the coming weeks. The majority of these will go to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international cooperation on vaccines. COVAX remains best-placed for allocating vaccines where they will be most effective, and we have already begun discussions to ensure the first 5 million doses are shared by the end of September.Going forward, decisions on vaccine sharing will be based on the continued reliability of supply chains, regulatory restrictions, and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the G7 pledge of 13 June 2021 on covid-19 vaccines for COVAX and low and middle income countries, which (a) manufacturer and  (b) distributer the vaccines pledged by (i) the UK and (ii) other nations will be coming from.

Wendy Morton: Our G7 Presidency has championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. We will share 100 million vaccine doses within the next year, 30 million of which will be shared by the end of 2021, and we are already sharing the first 5 million doses in the coming weeks. The majority of these will go to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international cooperation on vaccines. COVAX remains best-placed for allocating vaccines where they will be most effective, and we have already begun discussions to ensure the first 5 million doses are shared by the end of September.Going forward, decisions on vaccine sharing will be based on the continued reliability of supply chains, regulatory restrictions, and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Channel Islands: World War II

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their German counterparts on the declassification of documents from the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands.

Wendy Morton: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has not had any discussions with German counterparts on the declassification of documents from the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands.We have not identified any records on this subject held by the FCDO. Such documents have been released by The National Archives, subject to any legal exemptions.

Females: Education

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he will take to (a) monitor and (b) account for the commitments made in the Declaration on Girls' Education endorsed at the G7 Leaders' Summit in June 2021.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to discuss implementation of the Declaration on Girls' Education at the next G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' meeting.

Wendy Morton: Implementation of commitments made in the Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting, and at the Leaders' summit, including the Girls' Education Declaration, is a major focus of our ongoing engagement with G7 partners. This includes the monitoring and implementation of our G7 Girls' Education deliverables, which are still under discussion with G7 partners.

Children and Mothers: Death

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking through its presidency of the G7 to progress the policy of ending the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children by 2030.

Wendy Morton: Under the UK presidency, G7 health ministers affirmed our joint commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights of all persons and to promoting safe and respectful maternal health, new-born health and child health, free from discrimination, coercion, exploitation and violence.The UK government commitment to ending the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children by 2030 encompasses a wide range of our global health and development priorities including: health systems strengthening; nutrition; sexual and reproductive health and rights; water, sanitation and hygiene; climate and environmental impacts on health. Through our G7 presidency, we have committed to strengthen global health systems. This work is crucial for further progress on maternal, new-born and child health and is also essential to ensure historic progress in these areas is not stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bilateral Aid: HIV Infection

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Government disbursed in bilateral funding to tackle HIV and AIDS in the financial year 2020-21.

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Government plans to disburse in bilateral funding to tackle HIV and AIDS in 2021.

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to bilateral funding for HIV on the ability to (a) advance community-led responses and (b) reach the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending AIDS by 2030.

Wendy Morton: The Secretary of State provided thematic ODA allocations for 2021/22 in a written ministerial statement which included £1,305 million allocated to global health. The impact of the global pandemic on the economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including within our global health portfolio. The aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against the challenging financial climate of COVID-19. Finalised FCDO spend for 2020 will be available in the "Statistics on International Development" publication in Autumn 2021 and details of FCDO spend for 2021 will be available in the "Statistics on International Development" publication in Autumn 2022.The UK remains committed to working as part of a global community to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and welcomes the new Global AIDS Strategy 2021-26 which sets out a clear approach to accelerating progress on HIV and AIDS. We remain strong supporters of the Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and Malaria. We continue to support UNAIDS. At the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS (June 2021), Minister Morton announced the UK will provide an additional £7 million over 3 years to the Robert Carr Fund which provides grants to grass-roots and community-led organisations that reach inadequately served populations and communities.

Overseas Aid

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to consult community and civil society organisations ahead of the development of its international development strategy.

Wendy Morton: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary is leading work on the new International Development Strategy, which will be cross-government in scope. We look forward to engaging with partners and stakeholders, including civil society organisations, over the coming months. This will build on the extensive engagement and call for evidence that was undertaken to inform the Integrated Review.

Females: Education

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to eliminate systemic and gendered barriers that prevent girls from accessing and completing education, globally.

Wendy Morton: Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new, global, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 milestone targets on girls' education, which we are calling on the world to help deliver. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration, which specifically states the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups, and youth leaders, to remove the obstacles to education that stand in girls' way. This includes addressing the social, environmental, and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence in and out of schools, reducing harmful cultural practices such as child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and amending restrictive policies or legislation which prevent girls thriving in school.For example, FCDO's support to international efforts to end child marriage has contributed to a 15% reduction in the global prevalence of child marriage over the last decade, averting 25 million child marriages. The UK is proud to be a global leader in efforts to end violence against women and girls. Through our What Works to Prevent Violence Programme, we pioneered approaches worldwide that have shown reductions in violence of around 50%, proving violence is preventable.

South Africa: Coronavirus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage (a) Pfizer and (b) Moderna to share their mRNA technology with the South African mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub to facilitate regional vaccine manufacturing.

Wendy Morton: Alongside our G7 partners, the UK is committed to working internationally on efforts to support our ambitious shared goal of vaccinating the world by the end of 2022. This includes efforts to increase vaccine supply by working with suppliers to boost manufacturing, and develop more sustainable approaches to support COVAX as well as wider future pandemic preparedness.Building vaccine manufacturing capacity is a long term, capital intensive, and high risk endeavour that will require sustained partnerships for supporting viable business models. We are working with the COVAX Supply Chains and Manufacturing Task Force, multilateral, and industry partners to expand quality and affordable vaccine supplies, smooth supply chains, support better information sharing and match making to increase trusted partnerships for manufacturing. The UK has funded McKinsey to scope opportunities for increasing vaccine manufacturing in Africa, and supported the African Union's Africa Manufacturing summit in April this year. We were also the largest funder of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in 2020, which is leading work internationally to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity.

HIV Infection: Finance

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of a reduction in funding for the HIV response on the ability of the international community to reach the targets included in the UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030.

Wendy Morton: The UK was proud to play a strong role with our international partners in shaping the progressive and ambitious new Global AIDS Strategy 2021-26 and subsequent UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. Adequate and sustainable donor funding and domestic financing will underpin the global community's ability to achieve these goals. The UK will participate in the forthcoming UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board where funding for HIV will be discussed, including the importance of domestic resource mobilisation. The UK continues to be a major funder of the global HIV response alongside our donor partners, including through £340 million support for the WHO and £1.4 billion pledge for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. This includes a commitment made this month to extend funding to the Robert Carr Fund to reach inadequately served populations in the HIV response.

Nuclear Weapons

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK is not a signatory to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which came into force on 22 January 2021; and what strategy his Department has for the (a) reduction of the UK's nuclear arsenal and (b) prevention of a new arms race.

James Cleverly: The UK is fully committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The best way to achieve this is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach, under the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Government has been clear it will not sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). We do not believe this Treaty will bring us closer to a world without nuclear weapons. The UK has unilaterally reduced its nuclear forces significantly from their Cold War peak. We possess the smallest nuclear warhead stockpile of the five Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) recognised under the NPT, and are the only NWS to have reduced its deterrent capability to a single nuclear weapon system. We welcome the US and Russia's joint statement on strategic stability on 16 June 2021 and their commitment to a bilateral strategic stability dialogue. We regard this as a serious signal of intent to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict and enhance mutual trust and security by the two countries, which hold almost 90% of the world's nuclear weapons.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Weapons: Procurement

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when are the planned dates for (a) initial and (b) main gate approval of the project to build a new replacement nuclear warhead.

Jeremy Quin: The Strategic Outline Case is expected to be reviewed by the Government's Major Projects Review Group in autumn 2021. Details of further programme timescales are being withheld at this point for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

Nuclear Weapons

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 February 2020, HCWS125 on Nuclear Deterrent, when final approval was given to build a new replacement warhead; and who approved that decision.

Jeremy Quin: To ensure we can continue to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, the Government, led by the Prime Minister, made the decision to replace the nuclear warhead. Details were announced in the Written Ministerial Statement laid in Parliament by the Secretary of State for Defence on 25 February 2020. As the right hon. Member will recall, in July 2016 Parliament debated and voted in support of maintaining Continuous At Sea Deterrence and renewing the nuclear deterrent by a significant majority of 355 votes (472 Ayes, 117 Noes).

Nuclear Weapons: Costs

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of building a new replacement warhead.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent on plans for a new replacement warhead (a) prior to his written statement of 25 February 2020 and (b) to date.

Jeremy Quin: As the replacement warhead is in its early preliminary phases it is too early at this stage to provide a cost estimate. I am however able to provide information relating to completed financial years. The Ministry of Defence spent £116 million up to the end of the financial year (2018-19). A total of £98 million was spent on the Replacement Warhead readiness phase over the subsequent two financial years (2019-20 and 2020-21).

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to allow discretion in taking recovery action for overpayment of universal credit when that overpayment occurred as a result of her Department's error.

Will Quince: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment Schemes

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sector-based Work Academy Programme starters there were in financial year 2020-21 in each region and nation; and how many of those have started a new job as a result.

Mims Davies: Data for the financial year 2020 – 21 shows that there were a total of 64,500 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP). The breakdown of these starts by nation and region is displayed in the following tables:Table 1: SWAP starts by nation NationStartsEngland58,320Scotland6,120Unknown60Total64,500 Table 2: SWAP starts by region RegionStartsWest Midlands5,000Central, East & North Scotland4,340South & West Scotland1,780London & Essex12,950North & East Midlands7,800North Central6,960North East5,550North West5,340South East8,200South West6,510Unknown60Total64,500 Note on above: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; components may not sum due to rounding. These figures reflect the number of starts by claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support (IS). We do not hold data on the number of participants who have started a job as a result of starting a SWAP.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Government’s new employment programmes including Kickstart and Restart meet the needs of disabled people.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to widen the eligibility of the (a) Kickstart scheme and (b) Restart scheme to allow people receiving employment and support allowance to access those schemes.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how regularly her Department plans to review the eligibility criteria of the (a) Kickstart scheme and (b) Restart scheme.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing candidates on the (a) Kickstart scheme and (b) Restart scheme greater flexibility to take on part-time placements rather than a fixed number of hours.

Mims Davies: The Kickstart Scheme provides flexibility and support for young people who may need to work reduced hours because of their specific requirements, such as a health condition. These are to be discussed and agreed with the Kickstart employer. Restart Scheme participants can take up part time roles as we have not specified the number of hours someone should work. Restart Scheme providers will receive an outcome payment when a participant earns over a certain threshold (the equivalent of six months’ work at the National Living Wage, with 16 hours worked each week), therefore part-time workers will take longer to reach this threshold, should their income be at a similar level. Based on experience of other programmes, this threshold is considered a reasonable proxy for sustainment of a job outcome and we believe this approach will ensure people are supported to find and stay in sustainable employment. There are currently no plans to extend the eligibility criteria of the Kickstart Scheme or the Restart Scheme. Disabled people, including those on Employment Support Allowance, who require more intensive employment support would have access to both the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) and can volunteer for this support at any time irrespective of benefit claimed or no benefit. The WHP predominantly helps people with a wide range of disabilities and health conditions to enter into and stay in work, and is suited to those who expect to find work within 12 months. IPES is an intensive, highly personalised voluntary support package that is flexible to participants’ needs. It supports disabled people with complex barriers to work who would be more than 12 months from the labour market without the benefit of IPES support. Young people with a disability or health condition on Universal Credit who wish to take up the opportunity of a Kickstart job can discuss what roles they are interested in and any reasonable adjustment they require with either a Work Coach, Youth Employability coach or Disability Employment Adviser. If adjustments are required to enable the young person to take up a Kickstart job these are to be discussed and agreed with the Kickstart employer. The Restart Scheme will be fully accessible for all scheme participants, including disabled people and people with health conditions. At the core of the programme is the requirement on providers to design and deliver a personalised service that addresses individuals’ support needs. Under the terms of the Equality Act, providers will be required to enable equal access to the provision. Restart Scheme providers will also be required to be Disability Confident Leaders, and therefore to be fully aware of best practice in supporting disabled people. The department will be monitoring the characteristics of people who participate in employment programmes. We will be evaluating the Kickstart Scheme and Restart Scheme to explore the delivery and outcomes from the programmes. This will include capturing the experiences of a range of participants, including disabled participants.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury's oral contribution of 22 June 2021, Official Report, column 745, what recent assessment she has made of state pension inequality in respect of the ongoing Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigation and women born in the 1950s.

Guy Opperman: All Ombudsman are independent of government. It would be inappropriate to comment while the PHSO investigation is ongoing.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Beekeeping: Urban Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage bee keeping in large towns and cities.

Rebecca Pow: Beekeeping can be very enjoyable and rewarding. However, beekeepers have a duty of care to look after their bees properly, so we recommend that anyone thinking about keeping bees gets advice from different sources including BeeBase, the National Bee Unit's website. BeeBase is designed for beekeepers, supports the Defra Bee Health Programme, and provides a wide range of information including how to keep colonies healthy and productive as well as honey bee related legislation.People thinking about taking up beekeeping may also wish to contact their local beekeeping association who will be able to provide other information, including on any training courses that they offer. We would also recommend visiting an apiary, which the association may help to arrange. The association may also be able to advise about how many beekeepers there are in the area and whether there is likely to be sufficient forage for all the pollinators.Research also highlights the importance of urban gardens and other green spaces in supporting wild bees and other pollinating insects, including bumble and solitary bees. Through the National Pollinator Strategy, we work with public, private and voluntary sector partners to develop advice and encourage everyone to support a range of insect species, by planting flowers, managing land appropriately or providing bug hotels in window boxes, gardens and other private and public spaces. The Defra-coordinated Bees' Needs Week promotes and celebrates such action. This year's campaign runs from 12 to 18 July.

Recycling

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will use the introduction of a UK Deposit Return Scheme to create a world-leading system that (a) covers all materials and (b) ensures higher (i) collection and (ii) recycle rates across all materials.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the environmental benefits of including carton packages in the proposed Deposit Return Scheme.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of studies and trials undertaken in other countries which examine the feasibility of including carton packages in Deposit Return Schemes.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for (a) consumer confusion, (b) material substitution and (c) other unintended consequences if a limited number of packaging materials are included in the proposed Deposit Return Scheme.

Rebecca Pow: The Government is committed to introducing a world leading Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers. We expect the introduction of a DRS to deter littering of in-scope containers; increase recycling of in-scope containers; provide higher quality recyclate for reprocessors; and influence consumer behaviours with potential knock-on effects to other environmental activities.We have now consulted twice on introducing a DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and are analysing the responses to the second consultation, including those on scope and materials, with a view to publishing a government response later this year. An impact assessment for the introduction of the scheme will also be published alongside the Government response.In developing proposals, the government have considered the inclusion of cartons in the scheme. However, the recent consultation proposed that cartons would not be captured by DRS and instead could be collected through kerbside collections. Cartons could be included in the core list of materials to be collected in the dry recyclable waste streams, and producers could pay for disposal of the packaging through the reformed packaging producer responsibility regime.We continue to assess the implications of which materials are included and excluded from the DRS, including any possible confusion this could cause. This includes drawing on evidence and findings from international DRS schemes to inform the final design and scope of a DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.No specific assessment has been made by the Government on material substitution but it is something we will continue to consider in finalising the DRS scope.

Air Pollution

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for this policies on air pollution of the Prevention of Future Deaths report on Ella Kissi-Debrah, published on 21 April 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has carefully considered the three matters of concern set out by the Coroner in the Prevention of Future Deaths report for Ella Kissi-Debrah and sent its response to the Coroner on the 17th of June 2021.The Government will launch a public consultation on new legal targets for PM2.5 early next year with the aim of setting new targets in legislation by October 2022. As well as a simple concentration target, the Government is also developing a population exposure reduction target, aiming to drive reductions not just in pollution "hotspots", but in all areas. In setting these new targets, there will also be a commitment to significantly increase the monitoring network to capture more detailed air quality information across the country.We will also take action to increase public awareness about air pollution. This will include a review of existing sources of information, encompassing the UK Air website and the Daily Air Quality Index, and an expansion of the funding available to local authorities as part of the Air Quality Grant Scheme.

Nappies: Environment Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Schedule 6: Resource efficiency information of the Environment Bill on the (a) environmental impact of single-use nappies and (b) uptake of reusable alternatives.

Rebecca Pow: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 23 June 2020, PQ UIN 16219.

Peat: Imports

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department's Peat Action Plan to ban the sale of peat in England will include a ban on the import of peat.

Rebecca Pow: In the recently published England Peat Action Plan we have committed to undertake a full consultation in 2021 on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament, and what that would look like. The consultation will also examine a range of measures, including the feasibility of introducing a point-of-sale charge for the purchase of growing media containing peat (this could use the plastic bag charge as a model). We are committed to working with the industry to understand the implications of these measures and to working with the private sector to develop and enact solutions, thus making the transition to peat alternatives as seamless as possible. The England Peat Action Plan can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987859/england-peat-action-plan.pdf

Ella Kissi-Debrah

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Coroner's Report into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has carefully considered the three matters of concern set out by the Coroner in the Prevention of Future Deaths report and sent its response to the Coroner on 17 June 2021. In the course of developing our response, Defra has worked closely with a range of departments including the Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Transport.

Supermarkets: Plastic Bags

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the plastic bag charge for supermarket deliveries in the event of a future lockdown to help prevent covid-19 transmission between delivery drivers and customers.

Rebecca Pow: The obligation for supermarkets to charge for single-use plastic carrier bags supplied with online deliveries was temporarily removed in response to the first Covid-19 lockdown. This change was only temporary to allow retailers time to adapt their delivery systems, and the charge was reinstated in September 2020.The department does not have any plans to further assess the need to reinstate the suspension of the charge for online deliveries. Supermarkets have updated and improved their delivery systems to meet the increased demand due to the pandemic. They have also developed new practices to improve safety for both drivers and customers, and the public is far more aware of the importance of social distancing.

Drugs: Regulation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medicines containing bile from Asian black bears is not illegally sold in the UK.

Rebecca Pow: All species of bear are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with the Asian black bear provided the highest level of protection under Appendix I.The UK Government is committed to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, with wildlife crime related to CITES being one of seven UK wildlife crime priorities. Since 2016, Defra has contributed £165,000 annually to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) which plays a critical role in combating the illegal trade of medicinal and health products in the UK. Working closely with UK Border Force, the NWCU continues to obtain and disseminate intelligence, analyse local and national threats, and directly assist law enforcement agencies in their investigations.

Fishing Vessels: EU Countries

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has direct access to real-time data from the EU fishing vessel monitoring data systems for EU fishing vessels licensed by the Government to fish in UK waters.

Victoria Prentis: It is a legal requirement for all registered fishing vessels over 12 meters in length present within UK waters, including EU vessels, to be fitted with a Vessel Monitoring System satellite tracking system. Data from this system is relayed via the flag member states providing the UK Fisheries Authorities with live positional data.

Food: Sugar

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Public Health England on progress on the sugar reduction programme and the voluntary ambition.

Victoria Prentis: The Secretary of State regularly meets with colleagues across Government to discuss measures to improve the healthiness of our food and diets. Public Health England (PHE) oversees the sugar reduction programme on behalf of the Government. As part of ongoing efforts to tackle the overconsumption of sugar, this programme challenged businesses across all industry sectors to reduce levels of sugar by 20% by 2020 in foods that contribute significantly to the sugar intakes of children up to 18 years. Juices and milk-based drinks excluded from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy also form part of the programme. Progress on sugar reduction is regularly and transparently monitored, and the most recent report on industry action was published in October 2020. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sugar-reduction-report-on-progress-between-2015-and-2019 Analysis shows mixed progress to date across categories, sectors and businesses and within individual products. Defra officials work closely with counterparts at PHE and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that policies and programmes on food, diet, and obesity are developed and delivered successfully.

Fishing Vessels: EU Countries

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to EU fishing vessels licensed to fish in UK waters, how many kilograms of each non-quota stock have been caught in each month from January to May 2021 inclusive.

Victoria Prentis: Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK and the EU have committed to sharing the information necessary to implement the fisheries heading, including data on access to fish non-quota stocks in each party's waters. The written record for the 2021 fisheries consultations with the EU sets out the detailed data that will be exchanged.We are working with the Commission to agree this exchange as soon as possible. The UK and the EU have both committed to agreeing what catch data should be exchanged in the longer term to support sustainable management by 31 July 2021.

Fishing Vessels: EU Countries

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to EU fishing vessels licensed by the Government to fish in UK waters, how many have been inspected (a) inside and (b) outside 12 nautical miles in the English sea area in each month of 2021.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for how many hours were at-sea fisheries patrols deployed in English waters in each month of 2021; and what was the total cost of those deployments.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to fisheries patrol vessels patrolling English waters, how many hours were those vessels deployed for in each month of 2021; what was the total cost of those deployments; and how many at-sea inspections took place (a) inside and (b) outside 12 nautical miles of (i) EU fishing vessels and (ii) UK fishing vessels.

Victoria Prentis: The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) employs a risk-based, intelligence-led operational model to deliver surveillance and assurance capability at sea. At-sea inspections are just one of a range of tools deployed by the MMO as part of its presence and deterrence strategy to prevent illegal fishing activities in English waters. Close surveillance at sea, hailing vessels to assure their activities as well as maintaining high visibility in areas where the risk of illegal fishing was highest has been effective in deterring unauthorised vessels fishing in English waters. Between 1 January and 24 June 2021, a total of 228 vessels have been inspected at sea in English waters by MMO, the Royal Navy and Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities. Of the 228 inspections, 131 EU vessels were inspected, of which 15 took place inside the 12 nautical mile limit and 116 took place outside the limit. Of the 97 UK vessels that were inspected, 51 took place inside the 12 nautical mile limit and 46 took place outside the limit. The monthly breakdown including the volume of inspections, hours deployed and the total cost for at sea surveillance presence was:  MonthPatrol duration (days)Cost (£)At-sea inspectionsJanuary 20211141,111,8110: due to Covid lockdown restrictionsFebruary 2021931,050,3120: due to Covid lockdown restrictionsMarch 202189888,52562 vessels inspected: 21 UK vessels & 41 Non-UK VesselsApril 202171704,96055 vessels inspected: 24 UK vessels & 31 Non-UK VesselsMay 202179704,67968 vessels inspected: 34 UK vessels & 34 Non-UK vessels1-24 June 202143Data not yet available43 vessels inspected: 18 UK vessels & 25 Non-UK vessels

Farmers: Retirement

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to pay farmers to retire; and what discussions he has had with the National Farmers Union on those plans.

Victoria Prentis: We plan to offer farmers in England who wish to exit the industry the option of applying for a lump sum payment in 2022. By doing so, this will free up land for new entrants and those farmers who wish to expand. We know that some farmers who wish to retire or leave the industry can find it difficult to do so and lack of finance can be one of the barriers to exit. We think that a lump sum exit scheme could help such farmers leave the industry in a planned way. The Department regularly discusses its planned agricultural reforms with key stakeholders, such as the National Farmers’ Union, and this has included discussions about the proposed lump sum exit scheme. We are currently consulting farmers and stakeholders on our proposed lump sum exit scheme, including the eligibility criteria that will apply https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/lump-sum-and-delinked-payments-england/. The consultation runs until 11 August 2021.

JBS

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the food safety practices of the Brazilian meat processing company JBS.

Victoria Prentis: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland hold information on food safety practices of food businesses based in the UK, including the ones owned by JBS.Checks are carried out on foodstuffs imported into the UK to ensure that they meet our food safety standards. When safety risks or non-compliances are identified in food, feed or food contact materials imported into the UK, the FSA is notified and in turn notifies the country that exported the non-compliant or hazardous goods into the UK.

Home Office

Travel: Quarantine

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for breaches of covid-19 hotel quarantine restrictions to date.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office does not hold the specific data requested

Unsolicited Goods and Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle unsolicited goods scams.

Kevin Foster: Fraudsters are sophisticated and will exploit any vulnerabilities they can, especially as more of us find ourselves at home and online. This includes unsolicited goods scams whereby victims receive a package they did not order nor expect to be delivered, but instead has been sent by fraudsters using publicly available names and addresses.We continue to encourage anyone who has been targeted by these scams to directly report this to the seller and contact Action Fraud, the national reporting service for fraud and cybercrime. Action Fraud can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website:https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime. As well as this, Action Fraud also regularly provide fraud alerts via their website, which can help individuals raise their awareness and obtain advice on how to combat these scams. This can currently be accessed at:https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news.

Visas: Innovation

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department’s review into the Innovator Route is planned to conclude; and if she will publish its conclusions.

Kevin Foster: The conclusions of the review and next steps will be set out in the Government’s Innovation Strategy, led by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, this summer.

British Nationality: Children

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce a fee waiver scheme for children born in the UK who are applying to register their British citizenship in response to the Court of Appeal judgment of 18 February 2021 in R on the application of Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens & O v Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has acknowledged the Court of Appeal’s judgment and has committed to reviewing the child citizenship registration fee in line with its duties under Section 55.A Supreme Court hearing on Child Registration fees also took place on 23rd and 24th June. We await the final judgment and the ongoing section 55 review before publishing results.

Visas: EEA Nationals

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing the use of remaining days on EEA Family Permits after the permit category ends on the 30 June 2021 where (a) there have been delays on the processing of the permit prior to that point and (b) the families have faced delays reuniting due to covid-19 restrictions.

Chris Philp: The Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 provided for the temporary continuation of the EEA family permit to 30 June 2021, to allow the family members of EEA citizens with saved EU law rights to accompany them to, or join them in, the UK. After that date, family members will no longer be able to apply for, or use, an EEA family permit to travel to and enter the UK. Family members wishing to join an EEA citizen who was resident in the UK by the end of the transition period can instead apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit, for which there is also no application fee. Where, from 1 July 2021, an individual arrives at the border with an unexpired EEA family permit and has not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, they will generally be granted immigration bail, to enable them to make an application here.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Freehold: Valuation

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make available a standardised freehold valuation calculator on the gov.uk website.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.Under the current system, too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold too complex, lacking transparency and prohibitively expensive. We will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation; abolishing marriage value, capping the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribing rates for the calculations at market value. We will also introduce an online calculator, further simplifying the process for leaseholders and ensuring standardisation and fairness for all those looking to enfranchise.These changes to the enfranchisement valuation process will result in substantial savings for some leaseholders, particularly those with less than 80 years left on their lease.Through our reforms, the length of a statutory lease extension will increase to 990 years, from 90 years (for flats) and 50 years (for houses). Leaseholders will be able to extend their lease with zero ground rent on payment of a premium. Leaseholders will also be able to voluntarily agree to a restriction on future development of their property to avoid paying 'development value'.The Government will respond to the Law Commission's remaining recommendations on enfranchisement, commonhold and right to manage in due course.We will translate these measures into law as soon as possible, starting with legislation to set ground rents on newly created leases to zero in the current session. This will be the first part of major two-part legislation to implement leasehold and commonhold reforms in this Parliament.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Freedom of Information

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2021, to Question 19598, on Freedom of Information, if he could confirm how many freedom of information requests received by his Department were referred to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House on Freedom of Information requests for advice on handling in 2020.

Eddie Hughes: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has referred requests to the Cabinet Office Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria which is available on gov.uk here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

Tenancy Agreements

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what incentives are in place to encourage landlords to adopt the Government's new model tenancy agreement.

Eddie Hughes: The Model Tenancy Agreement is the Government's suggested contract for assured shorthold tenancies in the private rented sector and is publicly available on the gov.uk website. It is free to download, and is also referenced in the 'How to Rent' guide and the 'How to Let' guide.Whilst landlords are not obligated to use the Model Tenancy Agreement in order to agree a tenancy, the Government will continue to consider how best to encourage usage of the Model Tenancy Agreement.

Community Ownership Fund

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when guidance for applications to the Community Ownership Funding Stream will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Eddie Hughes: The £150 million Community Ownership Fund will help ensure that communities across the UK can support and continue benefiting from the local facilities, community assets and amenities most important to themThe fund will be delivered directly by MHCLG in communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.A key aim of the programme is to drive greater community ownership of assets that advance the social wellbeing and interests of communities by bringing sporting, cultural, historical, recreational, or environmental benefits.From Summer 2021, voluntary and community organisations from all parts of the UK will be eligible to apply for funding to help takeover community assets at risk of loss without community interventionVoluntary and community organisations will be able to bid for up to £250k matched-funding to help them buy or take over a physical community asset at risk. Community groups seeking to acquire a sports asset will be able to claim up to £1 million match funding.

Third Sector: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each local authority in England, how much is spent on Community and Voluntary Sector Organisations (a) as a proportion of overall expenditure from each local authority and (b) in real terms.

Luke Hall: An estimate of the total payments from local authorities in England to voluntary bodies is made from the Subjective Analysis Return part of the annual Revenue Outturn returns. In order to minimise burden, this is collected once every three years and from a sample of local authorities. The latest estimate is for 2019-20 and can found at line 55 of Part B of the Annex A spreadsheet at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2019-to-2020-final-outturn.

Parking: Key Workers

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend the health, care and volunteer workers parking pass in response to the postponement of the easing of covid-19 restrictions planned for 21 June 2021.

Luke Hall: At the end of March 2020, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government reached an agreement with the Local Government Association that local councils in England would voluntarily offer free car parking to all NHS workers, social care staff and NHS volunteer responders during the emergency response period.With the national lockdown drawing to a close, challenges in managing pass fraud and an increasing number of councils moving toward offering local concessions for health workers and other groups, it was agreed that the national pass guidance should be withdrawn.This is reflected in new joint parking enforcement advice provided in April to local authorities by the Local Government Association, British Parking Association and London Councils.Councils are responsible for setting their own local policy and those interested in local parking concessions can check their local councils' website for further details of any local schemes.NHS staff continue to be eligible for free parking in hospital car parks and funding for this has been provided to NHS Trusts by Government.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Legatum Institute's UK Prosperity Index 2021 area rankings will inform the design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Luke Hall: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK in places most in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people who face labour market barriers.Spending Review 2020 set out the main strategic elements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the Heads of Terms. We will ramp up funding so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match EU receipts, on average reaching around £1.5 billion a year. In addition, the UK Government is providing an additional £220 million funding in 2021/22 through the UK Community Renewal Fund to help local areas prepare for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.The Government will publish a UK-wide investment framework later this year and confirm its funding profile at the next Spending Review.

Disadvantaged

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the Legatum Institute's UK Prosperity Index 2021 area rankings.

Luke Hall: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK in places most in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people who face labour market barriers.Spending Review 2020 set out the main strategic elements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the Heads of Terms. We will ramp up funding so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match EU receipts, on average reaching around £1.5 billion a year. In addition, the UK Government is providing an additional £220 million funding in 2021/22 through the UK Community Renewal Fund to help local areas prepare for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.The Government will publish a UK-wide investment framework later this year and confirm its funding profile at the next Spending Review.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Wales

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to engage and consult representatives of local authorities in Wales on the design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Luke Hall: The Government has been engaging with stakeholders on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund since 2016, including holding a series of engagement events.Over 500 stakeholders attended these events across a variety of sectors, including businesses, public bodies (such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, Mayoral Combined Authorities, local governments), higher education institutions, voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups.Our engagement events have taken place across the UK including in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Government officials will continue to work closely with interested parties as we develop the Fund.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential opportunities afforded by HS2 for (a) the economy and (b) implementing the Government's levelling up agenda for local and regional economies.

Luke Hall: The Government is committed to realising the economic opportunities presented by HS2. Following a recommendation made by the Oakervee Review of HS2, a Department for Transport led Ministerial Task Force for Phases 1 and 2a of HS2 was established to provide strategic oversight, support and challenge on delivery, including discussion of the economic benefits. This work complements the discussions on levelling up that are taking place at the National Economic Recovery Taskforce.   My officials, working closely with Department for Transport officials, have frequent discussions with stakeholders across the country to fully understand the economic benefits of HS2 to their areas. Ministers and officials will continue to work together to ensure our priorities are met.

Property Development: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to expand the economic area for York Central.

Luke Hall: York Central has been designated as an ‘Enterprise Zone’ in recognition of its importance as a major city development opportunity in the North of England. There are no plans to expand the economic area of York Central.The designated York Central Enterprise Zone provides incentives, including government-backed business rate discounts, to attract businesses and jobs to the site. York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership has also invested £6 million from the government’s Local Growth Fund programme to support site development.Government is investing over £77 million in Housing Investment Grant funding for the York Central project, to unlock 2,500 homes on this strategic city centre brownfield site.

Building Safety Fund

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the deadline of 30 September 2021 for the start of remedial works to be paid for under the Building Safety Fund, whether there will be flexibility in the application of that deadline in the event that a decision has been delayed as a result of the appeals process.

Christopher Pincher: The timelines for the Building Safety Fund were intended to incentivise building owners to speed up plans to identify and remediate unsafe buildings. The Building Safety Fund Application Guidance requests that applicants work to meet the deadlines set out by the fund wherever possible. We recognise, however, that meeting these deadlines may not be possible in all circumstances, for instance where applicants find that they do not have sufficient time to complete a robust and satisfactory procurement process or are still going through the appeals process. More time may be permitted on a case by case basis, providing applicants continue to keep delivery partners and residents fully informed and provide them with realistic timetables. Building safety remains the responsibility of the building owner, and they must take swift action to remediate safety issues, without passing on costs to leaseholders.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of (a) the costs required for necessary fire remediation works in residential leaseholders' block and (b) the amounts left for leaseholders to pay.

Christopher Pincher: Section 11 of the Building Safety Bill: Impact Assessment estimates the average costs per building for addressing safety remediation in high rise buildings. These estimates consider all necessary remediation, which goes beyond façade remediation.In relation to removal and replacement of unsafe cladding, we are providing over £5 billion of Government grant funding for the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings of 18m and above, and a low interest finance scheme (under which no leaseholder will need to pay more than £50 per calendar month) for the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings of 11-18m in height.

Holiday Lets and Second Homes: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce local occupancy restrictions for York to prevent second homes and holiday lettings.

Christopher Pincher: The Government recognises the benefits that second homes and short-term holiday lettings can bring to local economies and to the tourism sector. Holiday letting increases consumer choice and encourages the dispersal of tourism across the country, bringing domestic and international tourists to new areas and allowing households with underused accommodation to supplement their income.However, the Government also recognises the adverse effect that large numbers of second homes can have on some areas, and that is why we introduced a series of measures to help mitigate those effects, such as a 3% higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for those purchasing additional properties.Under our new First Homes scheme for first-time buyers, which provides properties with a discount of at least 30%, local authorities are able to restrict eligibility to local people for the first 3 months of marketing to ensure that local first-time buyers are prioritised.The Government recently published the Tourism Recovery Plan which includes a commitment to consult on a possible tourist accommodation registration scheme. Such a scheme could be used to underpin future government interventions, for example regarding the regulation of short term letting. The Government is committed to hearing views of all interested parties on the scheme.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Conduct

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Ministerial Code, what his Department's guidance is on personal relationships between Ministers and (a) officials and (b) advisers.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Civil Service management code, what his Department's guidance is on personal relationships between (a) employees and (b) line managers.

Chloe Smith: The Ministerial Code states: "Working relationships, including with civil servants, ministerial and parliamentary colleagues and parliamentary staff should be proper and appropriate". Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the Code and for justifying their actions and conduct to Parliament and the public.The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Departments and agencies are responsible for defining the standards of conduct they require of their staff.Notwithstanding, the Government also recognises that all individuals have a right to a private life, and does not seek to restrict the personal relationships and friendships between adults.

Blood: Contamination

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the chair of the Infected Blood compensation framework has been given budget boundaries for that framework.

Penny Mordaunt: The purpose of this study is to provide the Paymaster General with advice on potential options for compensation framework design and solutions for victims of infected blood. Following public consultation, the study’s terms of reference will be finalised. It is important that the independent reviewer, Sir Robert Francis, is able to examine all options and design solutions. No budget boundaries have been set in respect of his considerations.

Treasury

Customs: Kent

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the planned capacity of the White Cliffs inland border facility is in Dover; and when that facility will become operational.

Jesse Norman: HMRC are planning to be able to process up to 1,000 vehicles per day through their facility at Dover White Cliffs.HMRC are currently working with their partners to build an end-to-end timeline and will confirm a date for the facility being operational in due course.

Migrant Workers: Data Protection

Clive Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes are in place to protect the data protection rights of migrants in the event that their personal tax data is used to determine (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for indefinite leave to remain.

Jesse Norman: HMRC have a duty of confidentiality for information they hold on all taxpayers. HMRC only share or disclose information that is necessary and proportionate for the intended purpose, through strict adherence to data protection principles such as UK GDPR, and only with comprehensive governance in place to monitor those exchanges and the purposes to which data can be used or retained.In the event that the Home Office and HMRC undertake an exchange in relation to applications for indefinite leave to remain, the processes in place to uphold the data protection rights of migrants are the same as for all applicants. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to determine whether applications are successful or unsuccessful.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Redundancy

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential number of jobs that will be lost in the event that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is ended before all firms can reopen.

Jesse Norman: In order to help businesses and employees through the next stage of the pandemic, at Budget, the Government extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) until the end of September 2021. This extension is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.So far, the CJRS has helped to pay the wages of people in 11.5 million jobs across the country, and between the end of January and end of April 2021 1.5 million left the scheme. The Government has been clear, however, that it will not be possible to preserve every job or business, and that it should not stand in the way of the economy adapting, or of people finding new jobs or starting new businesses.The Government is therefore maintaining its focus on helping people back into work. As part of its comprehensive Plan for Jobs, the Government announced the £2 billion Kickstart scheme which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people, and the new three year Restart programme, which will provide intensive and tailored support to over one million unemployed Universal Credit claimants across England and Wales and help them find work.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for fraudulent use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Jesse Norman: To date there have been no prosecutions or convictions for fraudulent use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). HMRC have made arrests in relation to the CJRS, with the first coming just two months after the scheme was launched. These cases are complex and will take time to investigate thoroughly in order to present to the relevant prosecuting authorities across the United Kingdom for consideration of charge and prosecution.

Wind Power

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total revenue raised for his Department was by The Crown Estate’s auction of Bidding Area 4 in Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4.

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the total revenue raised for his Department was by The Crown Estate’s auctioning of Offshore Wind leases in territorial waters around the coast of Wales.

Kemi Badenoch: The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 has not yet concluded and therefore no revenue has yet been received. Future revenue raised will depend on the outcome of the upcoming plan-level Habitats Regulations Assessment, as well as how developers subsequently progress potential projects through to construction.The Crown Estate publishes its financial returns in relation to all its activities on an annual basis. This includes a separate report on its activity in Wales - as set out in The Crown Estate’s most recent Wales Highlights Report, total revenue from offshore renewables in Wales in 2020-21 totalled £3.3 million, (£3.4 million in 2019-20). Figures are not published for individual leasing rounds. (https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/3872/wales-highlights-2021-final.pdf)

Council of Europe: Coronavirus

John Howell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on introducing measures to help the recovery from the covid-19 outbreak of the Council of Europe debate on 22 June 2021.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government takes note of the debate on overcoming the socio-economic crisis sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic and notes that the resolution and recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers in due course. The Government has acted to support the economy on a scale unmatched in recent history, protecting jobs and livelihoods and boosting public services. Because of our economic plan, our recovery will be faster, with the Office for Budget Responsibility now expecting the economy to reach its pre-Covid size two quarters earlier and unemployment to peak at a rate 1 percentage point lower than in its November forecast. The policy support announced by the Government has led to a significant but necessary increase in borrowing and debt. But it is clear that the costs of inaction would have been far higher. Strong public finances are a fundamental part of a strong economy and a strong Union. The certainty that comes from ensuring the public finances are on a sustainable path will support economic stability across the UK. Measures announced at Budget 2021 bring debt under control over the medium term, through a fair and progressive package.

Members: Correspondence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to reply to the letter of 1 March 2021 from 19 parliamentarians on five priorities for a green and fair economic recovery.

Kemi Badenoch: A response was sent to the Member on 6 May and a further copy has been sent by email.

Heating: Housing

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the capital expenditure of heat pump delivery to ensure that the cost of retrofit measures, relative to household equity, reflect regional differences in (a) cost, (b) average household income of those regions and (c) the average annual temperature of those regions.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government is developing a comprehensive package of policies to meet our ambition for the UK to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. This is expected to support 40,000 direct jobs, with Valliant and Mitsubishi both recently announcing new manufacturing in the UK. The forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy will provide a clear direction-of-travel for industry to achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat. We will do this with affordability and fairness at the front of our minds. We recently launched the £350m Sustainable Warmth Competition, with Local Authorities across England able to apply. The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy will review bids on a range of criteria designed to help those most in need, and I would encourage Members from across the house to work with their local areas to make the scheme a success.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Licensing

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of strengthening measures against gambling operators holding licenses in the UK in relation to their conduct in foreign jurisdictions in order to help ensure the licensing aim of the Gambling Act 2005 to keep Great Britain gambling free from crime and criminal proceeds.

Mr John Whittingdale: All gambling companies offering gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain, wherever they are based, must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions and codes of practice of their operating licences. Operators are expected to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and must report any regulatory or criminal investigation into their activities in any jurisdiction to the Commission. Operators must also report the granting, withdrawal or refusal of any application for a licence in another jurisdiction. These requirements, along with the international cooperation the Commission enjoys with other gambling regulators, enable the Commission to make the necessary ongoing assessments of an operator’s suitability to hold a GB licence. It is for the responsible authorities in each jurisdiction to determine whether operators’ activities comply with the applicable rules. Further information on what the Gambling Commission expects from its licensed operators regarding their operations in other jurisdictions can be found in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice:https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/condition/15-2-1-reporting-key-events

Microprocessors: Silicon and Lithium

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2021 to Question 2294 on Telecommunications: Lithium and Silicon, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of silicon and lithium supply shortages on silicon chips.

Matt Warman: The current shortage of chips is due to a confluence of unexpected events, including unprecedented pandemic-driven shifts in demand within a global market. HMG recognises the severity of the current chip shortage, the widespread international ramifications and the difficulties it has created for a number of UK firms. HMG are engaging affected UK sectors and key international partners to identify any available domestic or international mitigations.